Winner of the 1999 Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching, Masako Ono Toribara served as lecturer in voice at Eastman from 1965 until her retirement in 1999. During her long career, Mrs. Toribara saw many of her students win positions in celebrated opera companies including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Chicago Lyric Opera, as well as in Europe. She frequently served as a judge for vocal competitions and in 1984 gave a master class at the Musashino Music School in Tokyo. Born in Fresno, California, Mrs. Toribara holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan. Before joining the Eastman faculty, she taught for two years at Bowling Green State University of Ohio. She performed as a soprano soloist with the Ars Antiqua early music ensemble and participated in opera and oratorio productions, in addition to solo recitals. Mrs. Toribara is a member of several academic fraternities and teaching organizations, including Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Lambda, Phi Kappa Phi, Mu Phi Epsilon, NATS, MTNA, and NYSMTA. She is listed in the Millennium Edition of the Marquis Who’s Who of American Women. Following her retirement, she was named professor emerita of voice.
A faculty member at Eastman for 34 years (1965-99), Mrs. Toribara passed away on April 18, 2023.