*On this date in 1985, the world premiere of the opera ‘Frederick Douglass’ debuted. It is a full-length opera written and composed by Dorothy Rudd Moore. It is 180 minutes in duration and has three acts. The world premiere occurred at City College of New York’s Aaron Davis Hall. Opera Ebony commissioned the opera. Moore […]
learn more*The Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) was celebrated on this date in 1964. Soprano Dorothy Maynor founded the school in the basement of the St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem when the community suffered severe physical blight, high levels of poverty, and few cultural resources for its young people. As it grew, the school […]
learn more*Adolphus Hailstork was born on born April 17, 1941. He is a Black composer and educator. Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork III was born in Rochester, New York, and grew up in Albany, New York, where he studied violin, piano, organ, and voice. He is of African, Indigenous, and European ancestry. His works blend musical ideas from […]
learn more*The Society of Black Composers (SBC) is celebrated on this date in 1968. It was an African American composer collective. The SBC began in New York City. The collective hosted several concerts showcasing the works of Black composers. Members of the Society have made significant contributions to American musical culture, including contemporary jazz, classical music, […]
learn more*Alvin Singleton was born on this date in 1940. He is a Black composer. Born and raised in New York City, he received his music education from New York University (B.A.) and Yale School of Music (M.M.). Singleton was a Fulbright Scholar in Rome, Italy, from 1971-1985. After that, Singleton returned to the United States […]
learn more*Noel Da Costa was born on this date in 1929. He was a Black Nigerian-Jamaican composer, jazz violinist, and choral conductor. Noel G. Da Costa was born in Lagos, Nigeria, to parents from Kingston, Jamaica, who were Salvation Army missionaries. After returning to Jamaica while Da Costa was young, they emigrated to Harlem, New York. […]
learn more*Ida Shepley was born on this date in 1908. She was a Black British actress and singer. She was born Ida Mary Humphrey in Nantwich, U.K. Her father was Clement Humphrey, a Caribbean-born herbalist; her mother was Gladys May, born Worthington; she had a younger brother born in 1912. In 1919, her mother remarried John […]
learn more*Earl Cameron was born on this date in 1917. He was a Black Afro Caribbean British actor. Earlston Jewett Cameron was born in Pembroke, Bermuda, and grew up on Princess Street, Hamilton, UK. His father was a stonemason who died in 1922, after which Cameron’s mother took on various jobs to support the family. As […]
learn more*Lawrence Brown was born on this date in 1893. He was a Black Gay vocalist (tenor), composer and pianist. Lawrence Benjamin Brown was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and raised by his father, Clark Benjamin Brown, and his stepmother, Cenia Brown. Lawrence’s birth mother died when he was three years old. Clark and his father were […]
learn more*Frederick Tillis was born on this date in 1930. He was a Black composer, jazz saxophonist, poet, and collegiate music educator. Born in Galveston, Texas, Frederick Charles Tillis was raised by his mother, Zelma Bernice Gardner Tillis, his stepfather, General Gardner, and his maternal grandparents, Willie Tillis and Jessie Tillis-Hubbard. His mother played piano and […]
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