Marian Anderson

Marian Anderson close up (Internet)

Marian Anderson was born on February 27, 1897 and died on April 8, 1993. She died at the age of 96 do to a heart failure. Anderson was an American contralto and one of the most famous singers in the twentieth century. A contralto means a female singer with a very low voice. Most of the singing Anderson did was at concerts and recitals in a very good music business.

In 1939, The “Daughters of the American Revolution” refused to let Anderson at a black and white or (integrated) audience in the “Constitutional Hall.” Anderson performed a critically acclaimed concert with the help of Franklin D. Roosevelt and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt on the day of Easter Sunday in 1939 at the “Lincoln Memorial” in Washington D.C. Anderson was the first was the first black person to perform at the “Metropolitan Opera” in New York City on January 7, 1995.

Anderson worked for the “United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC).” The UNHRC is a committee that has a mix of people from all around the word that come together to talk about human rights abuses. Anderson was awarded a numerous amount of awards, but one of the awards she was given was called the “Presidential Medal of Freedom” which she got in 1963. Also, another surprising award she was given wad the “Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award” Anderson was given in 1986.

Anderson was only a little girl when she started to earn her fame. She was only six years old when she joined her church choir! Anderson was eight years old when her dad bought her a piano from his brother (Anderson’s uncle.) When Anderson was thirteen she joined the senior choir at her church. In 1919, at the age of 22 she sang at the “National Baptist Convention.” When Anderson became older and more known she earned the nickname “The Baby Contralto.”

Anderson debuted at the “New York Philharmonic” in 1925 and scored a quick success. Also, in 1928 she sung at the “Carnegie Hall” for her fist time ever. Anderson’s reputation became better known during her tour through Europe in the 1930s. Anderson was so good at singing she got a scholarship to “National Association of Negro Musicians” to study in Britain. She also got a scholarship to “Julius Rosenwald Fund.”