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Before i begin in Assignment #6 I got most of my information at mta.ca and at Wikipedia
Portia White was a teacher, as well as a vocalist. She achieved international fame in the 1940's and 1950's as a Classical concert singer, Portia White inherited her singing abilities from her family.
Portia was born in 1911 in Truro. She had been born 3rd in a family of 11, her father was a Baptist minister and the first black graduate of Acadia university in 1906. that same year he married Izie White. After world war one the white family moved to Halifax. The father became a minister at the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church. Portia joined the choir in her father's church at the age of 6 with her sibling.
The depression of the 1930's brought so much more music opportunities that the father did weekly concerts at the theatre for the church. Portia eldest sister, Helena, organized the concerts while Portia herself directed the choir. In the early 1930's Portia completed teaching school at Dalhousie University, and teaching in Lucasville, a black community on the outskirts of Halifax. She kept up her singing in the Halifax Ladies Musical Club.
Portia gave her first recital in June 1939, during the war she often preformed in concerts and on radio gaining popularity Her younger siblings formed the White Quartette and preformed regularly for the troops in Halifax. In 1941 Portia met Edith Read, a Halifax native, whom was a principle of Branksome Hall, a private school in Toronto. Read was impressed with Portia and made arrangements for a performance at the Eaton Aditoran. Due to Read's kindness Portia got a large chain of performances to New York and many more.
Portia White's was career was very short. Between 1945 and 1948 she toured through Canada, The U.S.A., and Latin America, although in 1946 she got a slight rasp in her throat, a symptom of vocal problems. In 1952 Portia gave up on vocals and retired in Toronto to teach music. Once in a while she made a small performance and gradually resumed her career. After 1960 she only gave a handful of concerts. one of the concerts was said to be 'the crowning achievement of her life', it was for Queen Elizabeth II at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Portia White was often called 'Canada's Marian Anderson,' after an african american singer.Portia White's last public appearance was at the World Baptist Federation conference on July 1967. She past away in Toronto in February 1968.In 1997 the Nova Scotia government created a special award for artists in her memory, a fitting tribute to a remarkable woman who had contributed so significantly to the musical life of her community and the world.
Portia White was a teacher, as well as a vocalist. She achieved international fame in the 1940's and 1950's as a Classical concert singer, Portia White inherited her singing abilities from her family.
Portia was born in 1911 in Truro. She had been born 3rd in a family of 11, her father was a Baptist minister and the first black graduate of Acadia university in 1906. that same year he married Izie White. After world war one the white family moved to Halifax. The father became a minister at the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church. Portia joined the choir in her father's church at the age of 6 with her sibling.
The depression of the 1930's brought so much more music opportunities that the father did weekly concerts at the theatre for the church. Portia eldest sister, Helena, organized the concerts while Portia herself directed the choir. In the early 1930's Portia completed teaching school at Dalhousie University, and teaching in Lucasville, a black community on the outskirts of Halifax. She kept up her singing in the Halifax Ladies Musical Club.
Portia gave her first recital in June 1939, during the war she often preformed in concerts and on radio gaining popularity Her younger siblings formed the White Quartette and preformed regularly for the troops in Halifax. In 1941 Portia met Edith Read, a Halifax native, whom was a principle of Branksome Hall, a private school in Toronto. Read was impressed with Portia and made arrangements for a performance at the Eaton Aditoran. Due to Read's kindness Portia got a large chain of performances to New York and many more.
Portia White's was career was very short. Between 1945 and 1948 she toured through Canada, The U.S.A., and Latin America, although in 1946 she got a slight rasp in her throat, a symptom of vocal problems. In 1952 Portia gave up on vocals and retired in Toronto to teach music. Once in a while she made a small performance and gradually resumed her career. After 1960 she only gave a handful of concerts. one of the concerts was said to be 'the crowning achievement of her life', it was for Queen Elizabeth II at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Portia White was often called 'Canada's Marian Anderson,' after an african american singer.Portia White's last public appearance was at the World Baptist Federation conference on July 1967. She past away in Toronto in February 1968.In 1997 the Nova Scotia government created a special award for artists in her memory, a fitting tribute to a remarkable woman who had contributed so significantly to the musical life of her community and the world.
2 comments:
Hi, Jessica!
Good post and nice detailed information.
Feel free to post more comments, I enjoy reading them.
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