“To Help the Singer”: Recognizing the Scholarship of Martha Gerhart

Pianist Martha Gerhart’s long career has been dedicated to the preparation and performance of classical vocal repertoire. Her work, part of professional operatic productions for decades, has also resulted in dozens of printed resources, many of which are used by nearly every singer, voice teacher and coach in North America. Among many other scholarly credits, she is the translator for the Hal Leonard aria anthology series: through this alone, Gerhart’s work has impacted thousands of people. This article aims to foster recognition of the many contributions of this unsung hero in the classical vocal world.