Students of every generation have faced the arduous task of balancing school with work so they can keep up with tuition costs.

Simon Estes, world-famous opera singer and the F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Artist in Residence, knows firsthand about the financial difficulties college students face.

The bass-baritone attended the University of Iowa as an undergraduate and said he worked 40 hours a week in addition to being a full-time student.

“I was very poor; I mean, I had no money, so I worked my way through,” he says. “I scrubbed floors, washed dishes, shined shoes.”

Estes’ father died while he was still in college, so he brought his mother and brother to live with him in Iowa City to help support them.

“I struggled financially,” he says. “I always thought, ‘If God blesses me, I want to be able to help other students so they won’t have it as difficult as I did.'”

On Monday, Estes will help ISU music students when he performs several Mozart concert arias and African spirituals to raise money for music scholarships.

“With a Song in Our Hearts” is one of several scholarship musicales the music department sponsors each year. Four student sopranos — Stephanie Kasper, Katy Argotsinger, Sarah Thompson and Elizabeth Neuerburg, all seniors in music — will also perform.

Donald Simonson, chairman of the voice division of the music department and professor of music, says the musicales usually take place in the homes of the members of The Friends of Music, which include alumni of the music department.

He says the scholarships, which are given based on talent and academic standing, were created to help attract students to the music program at Iowa State.

“Music students are like athletes,” he says. “There are lots of schools who want them.”

Thompson says she decided to study music at Iowa State because of the smaller size of the program, which provides a greater opportunity for one-on-one teaching compared with larger schools.

“It’s a small program, but it also has a high level of expectation,” she says. “At a lot of schools, you don’t get that kind of attention until you’re a senior.”

Thompson says the faculty members usually try to pick older music students to perform at the scholarship musicales.

“When you get to be a junior or senior, that’s when you have enough repertoire to pick something to perform,” she says.

Thompson says she enjoys performing at the scholarship musicales because they usually perform for an audience consisting of people other than just parents.

“It’s an opportunity to perform for a group of people who have a high level of music appreciation,” she says.

“It’s a crowd that comes with really high expectations of music. They like to see what their money has produced.”

Thompson also says she appreciates being able to do her part to help provide music scholarships for future students.

“It’s really nice being able to give back,” she says.

She will perform “When Did I Fall in Love” from “Fiorello” at the musicale and says she is looking forward to performing at the same musicale as a world-renowned opera singer.

“Being on the same program as Simon Estes is always enjoyable,” she says.

Estes says he hopes the students who will be performing with him will be able to include the performance on their resumes.

“And it’s an honor for me to sing with them, too,” he says.

What: “With a Song in Our Hearts,” featuring Simon Estes

Where: Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall

When: 7:30 p.m. Monday

Cost: Free for students, $10 public