History Alive Project
History Alive! Project: Black History Month
Marian Anderson
Short Biography:
Marian Anderson was born on February 27th, 1897. She was the oldest of three sisters. Marian Anderson revealed her vocal talent as a child, but her family could not afford to pay for formal training. So her parents decided it was best to let her join the choir at the Union Baptist Church at the age of six. Then at the age of 13, Marian joined the senior choir. Within that time period Marian was also focused on attending her local high school until she was then notified that she was rejected because she was an African American. So Marian decided that it was best for her to attend the music high school that was located in Pennsylvania .Members of her church congregation raised funds for her to attend the music school for a year. As Marian impressed everyone with her talented voice her father decided it was best to surprise her with a piano that then meant so much to her. Mainly because she knew her parents couldn’t afford to pay for professional lessons so she decided to learn on her own. Furthermore, Marian Anderson commitment to her music and her choice as a singer very well impressed the rest of her choir the Union Baptist Church. They then gathered together and raised enough money, about $500, to pay for Anderson to train under Giuseppe Boghetti, a respected voice teacher. During her two years of studying with Boghetti, Anderson won a chance to sing at the Lewiston Stadium in New York after entering a contest organized by the New York Philharmonic Society. Other opportunities soon followed. In 1928 she performed at Carnegie Hall for the first time, and eventually she was then on tour around the world performing. Much of Marian’s life would eventually see her breaking down obstacles for an African-American performer. For example, in 1955 she became the first African-American singer to perform as a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Although Marian Anderson was
Marian Anderson
Short Biography:
Marian Anderson was born on February 27th, 1897. She was the oldest of three sisters. Marian Anderson revealed her vocal talent as a child, but her family could not afford to pay for formal training. So her parents decided it was best to let her join the choir at the Union Baptist Church at the age of six. Then at the age of 13, Marian joined the senior choir. Within that time period Marian was also focused on attending her local high school until she was then notified that she was rejected because she was an African American. So Marian decided that it was best for her to attend the music high school that was located in Pennsylvania .Members of her church congregation raised funds for her to attend the music school for a year. As Marian impressed everyone with her talented voice her father decided it was best to surprise her with a piano that then meant so much to her. Mainly because she knew her parents couldn’t afford to pay for professional lessons so she decided to learn on her own. Furthermore, Marian Anderson commitment to her music and her choice as a singer very well impressed the rest of her choir the Union Baptist Church. They then gathered together and raised enough money, about $500, to pay for Anderson to train under Giuseppe Boghetti, a respected voice teacher. During her two years of studying with Boghetti, Anderson won a chance to sing at the Lewiston Stadium in New York after entering a contest organized by the New York Philharmonic Society. Other opportunities soon followed. In 1928 she performed at Carnegie Hall for the first time, and eventually she was then on tour around the world performing. Much of Marian’s life would eventually see her breaking down obstacles for an African-American performer. For example, in 1955 she became the first African-American singer to perform as a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Although Marian Anderson was