The grandson of formerly enslaved people, Walter Franklin Anderson, classical pianist, organist, composer, jazz musician, community activist, and academician, was born on May 12, 1915, in segregated Zanesville, Ohio. Walter was the sixth of nine children of humble beginnings. Information regarding his parents is not … Read MoreWalter Franklin Anderson (1915-2003)
As a child, concert violinist and professor Elwyn A. Adams was a musical prodigy of some notoriety in the African American community of Cleveland, Ohio, where he was born on August 3, 1933. At age five he gave his first violin recital at East Mt. … Read MoreElwyn Albert Adams (1933-1995)
Denyce Graves is a renowned mezzo-soprano opera singer. She has performed at opera houses around the world and is best known for her roles in Carmen and Samson et Dalila. Denyce Graves was born on March 7, 1964 to parents Charles Graves and Dorothy Graves-Kenner in Washington D.C. She was raised by her … Read MoreDenyce Graves (1964- )
Image Ownership: Kim Nowacki/WQXR (Fair Use) Born to a Puerto Rican father and African American mother, Martina Arroyo was a world-renowned operatic soprano from the 1960s through 1989, the year of her professional retirement. She and her contemporaries were the first generation of African American … Read MoreMartina Arroyo (1936- )
Concert pianist Natalie Hinderas was born Natalie Leota Henderson on June 15, 1927, to parents Abram Henderson and Leota Palmer Henderson in Oberlin, Ohio. Hinderas came from a family of accomplished musicians. Her great-grandfather had been a bandleader and teacher, her father was a jazz … Read MoreNatalie Leota Hinderas (1927-1987)
Reri Grist is an internationally acclaimed lyric and coloratura soprano noted for her “silvery tone, flawless technique and stupendous acting.” Beginning her singing career as Consuelo in Leonard Bernstein’s musical “West Side Story” in 1957, she introduced the song “Somewhere” to the public. After that … Read MoreReri Grist (1932- )
William Levi Dawson was an African American composer, choir director, and professor specializing in Black religious folk music. He was born on September 26, 1899, in Anniston, Alabama to Eliza Starkey and George Dawson, the first of their seven children. His father, a former slave, … Read MoreWilliam Levi Dawson [Composer] (1898-1990)
