Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick was an American soprano and presenter. A recipient of two bilateral (double) lung transplants, she spoke and performed frequently at concerts, conferences and events around the United States.
Early life Tillemann-Dick was born in Denver, Colorado, the fifth of eleven children, including siblings diplomat and technologist Tomicah S. Tillemann, and author Levi Tillemann.Denver's Own Royal Tenenbaums - Page 1 , - Westword.com; accessed November 9, 2014. She received a bachelor's degree with high honors from Regis University and studied music at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, where she was also a Fulbright scholar.
Music A full lyric coloratura soprano, Tillemann-Dick performed across the United States, Europe, and Asia in venues as diverse as The Rose Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City; The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio; The National Symphony Hall in Budapest, Hungary; the American Embassy in Beijing, China; and the National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol. She collaborated or performed with noted conductors and musicians including Bruno Rigacci, Joella Jones, Marvin Hamlisch, Bono, Zoltán Kocsis, Joan Dornemann, Éva Marton, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.Profile, timesonline.co.uk; accessed November 9, 2014. Some of her opera roles included Titania in A Midsummer's Night Dream, Gilda in Rigoletto, and Violetta in La traviata.
Tillemann-Dick performed for numerous presidents, prime ministers, members of Congress and world dignitaries.
Health and advocacy After receiving a diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary hypertension in 2004, Tillemann-Dick served as the national spokesperson for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. In December 2005, she testified about pulmonary hypertension before the U.S. Congress' Committee on Energy and Commerce.Testimony before U.S. Congress , ftp.resource.org/gpo.gov; accessed November 8, 2014.
In September 2009, Tillemann-Dick underwent a double lung transplant at the Cleveland Clinic. Just eight months later, she performed before the doctors, nurses, and support staff at the Clinic.Double-lung transplant patient to perform opera at Cleveland Clinic summit (video) , cleveland.com; accessed November 9, 2014."Young opera singer diagnosed with life-threatening lung disorder sings for her doctors" , newsnet5.com; accessed November 9, 2014.Profile , fox8.com; accessed November 9, 2014."Soprano serenades doctors after lung transplant" , CNN.com; accessed November 9, 2014.
Tillemann-Dick then became a vocal advocate for organ donation and transplantation research in the United States. After complications from rejection, she received a second double lung transplant in January 2012.
Presenting After receiving her transplant, Tillemann-Dick presented at numerous conferences and events, including the Chicago Ideas Week, TEDMED,Soprano Charity Tillemann-Dick Gets Lung Transplant , ABCNews.go.com; accessed November 9, 2014.TEDMED: Soprano and Double-Lung Transplant Recipient Charity Tillemann-Dick - Health Blog , WSJ.com; accessed November 9, 2014. TEDxMidAtlantic;TEDxMidAtlantic profile ; accessed November 9, 2014. and the 6th Annual National Conference on Organ Donation. She was a frequent presenter and performer for corporate events, nonprofits and associations, and civic organizations, and was featured on the CBS Morning Show,"Woman sings anew after 2nd double lung transplant", CBSNews.com; accessed November 8, 2014. CNN with Dr. Sanjay Gupta,"A Tale of Two Transplants" , thechart.blogs.cnn.com; accessed November 9, 2014. TED.com,"Charity Tillemann-Dick singing after a double lung transplant", ted.com; accessed November 9, 2014. The Washington Post"Singing opera with someone else's lungs" , washingtonpost.com, May 24, 2013; accessed November 9, 2014. and BBC Radio.Soprano Who Had Two Lung Transplants - Outlook at BBC World Service
Personal life Tillemann-Dick was the maternal granddaughter of Annette (Tillemann) and Congressman Tom Lantos, the former Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the U.S. Congress. Her paternal grandmother, Nancy Dick, was the first female Lieutenant Governor of Colorado. On April 10, 2008, Tillemann-Dick's father, Timber Dick, a successful inventor and businessman from Denver, died from injuries received in a car accident."Denver inventor Timber Dick dies after crash" , The Denver Post; accessed November 9, 2014.
She was married to Yonatan Doron; they lived in Baltimore, Maryland.
Tillemann-Dick was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."Mormons don't eat meat?" , getreligion.org, July 2009; accessed November 9, 2014.
Death In August 2018, she announced that she had cancer. On April 23, 2019, Tillemann-Dick died at the age of 35, from cancer triggered by long-term immunosuppression from the transplants.
Bibliography
References
External links Official Website TED Blog: Charity Tillemann-Dick shares the harrowing story of living between life and death
CBS This Morning: Woman sings anew after 2nd double lung transplant