Eleanor Steber, a celebrated opera singer, trained at the New England Conservatory of Music and launched her career after winning the 1940 Metropolitan Opera radio auditions. Her debut at the Met as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier led to iconic performances, including her role in Wozzeck and Lohengrin at Bayreuth, becoming the first American to perform there post-WWII.

Beyond performances, she contributed to USO shows, bond drives, and veterans' hospitals during WWII. Steber also appeared in musical theater, including The Sound of Music, and collaborated with composer Samuel Barber, premiering Knoxville: Summer of 1915. After retiring, she taught at Juilliard and Cleveland Institute, and founded the Eleanor Steber Music Foundation. Inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2013, Steber’s legacy endures through her recordings and mentorship.