Biography Essay On Marian Anderson

Marian Anderson was born on February 27, 1897 in Philadelphia. She was the daughter of John Berkley Anderson and Annie Delilah Rucker. Her father sold ice and coal at the reading terminal in down town Philadelphia and eventually had a small liquor business too. Her mother prior to her marriage was attending Virginia seminary and College in Lynchburg, and also worked as a school teacher in Virginia. Anderson was the eldest of three children, Alice (which later changed the spelling of her name to Alyse) and Ethel Anderson. Alyse also was a singer and Ethel married James DE Priest and later had a son James Anderson DE Priest he was a note conductor. Anderson’s whole family was very devoted Christian. Anderson’s Aunt Mary was especially active
Marian Anderson credits her aunt Mary for influencing her as the reason why she pursued a music career. At that age of twelve, Marian’s father was struck on the head at work at the Reading Terminal, and a few weeks before Christmas in 1909, he died at age 24. After the death of her father Marian her mother and her two sisters went to live in their father’s parents’ house Grandpa Benjamin and grandma Isabella. Marian’s grandfather was born a slave and had been emancipated in the 1860s. He and Marian were very close. Marian Anderson attended Stanton Grammar School, and graduated in the summer of 1912, but was unable to attend high school because her family couldn’t afford it. could they pay for singing lessons. Anderson continued to perform wherever she could and learned from anyone who taught her. Through her teenage life Marian Anderson stayed active in her church music activities. Anderson joined the “Baptism Young Peoples Union, and the campfire Girls which provided her with musical opportunities. Eventually the director of the people’s chorus and her pastor helped raise money for her to get singing lessons and she graduated in
In the summer of 1930, she went to Scandinavia where Marian met Kosti Vehanen, the Finnish pianist who became her regular accompanist and also her vocal coach for many years. In 1934 Sol Hurok offered Anderson a better contract than the one she had with Rather Judson, and he became her manager for the balance of her career. His persuasion got her back to performing in the United States and in 1935 had her first performance in New York, Town Hall, which got her highly favored reviews. On Easer Sunday, April 9 of the same year, Marian Anderson sang “My Country, Tiss of Thee” at the Lincoln Memorial, you can find the video of the performance on “Youtube” it was amazing. During the Korean War, Marian Anderson entertained the troops in hospitals and bases. Marian Anderson was the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She also sang for Presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy’s inaugurations. On July 17, 1943 in Bethel, Connecticut, Anderson became the second wife of Orpheus H. Fisher. She had a stepson named James Fisher. They lived happily on a 100 acre farm in Danbury, Connecticut. Marian Anderson retired from singing in 1965. After retirement, she narrated lots of performances and did