Background
Dorothy Antoinette Handy-Miller was born on October 29, 1930, in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. She was a daughter of William Talbot Handy, a minister, and Darthney Pauline Pleasant Handy, a homemaker and music teacher.
350 Spelman Ln SW, Atlanta, GA 30314, United States
From 1946 to 1949, Dorothy studied at Spelman College.
290 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, United States
Dorothy attended New England Conservatory of Music, where she received a Bachelor of Music in 1952.
633 Clark St, Evanston, IL 60208, United States
In 1953, Dorothy received a Master of Music from Northwestern University.
209 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris, France
Dorothy received a diploma from Paris National Conservatory in 1955.
(The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, a popular women'...)
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, a popular women's jazz band of the 1940s, has earned a reputation as the 'best all-women's swing band ever to perform.' This revised and updated edition provides fascinating reading for jazz enthusiasts and students of American history, music, and women's history. It is the most comprehensive and objective history of the band to date. Handy documents all sides of the band's controversial story and interviews members of the band. She updates the careers of band members who remained in the music business. Accompanied by an extensive bibliography and many photographs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DBTMNSO/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0
1983
(Black Conductors is the first collective biography of Bla...)
Black Conductors is the first collective biography of Black American conductors of instrumental ensembles from the early 19th century to the present. Leaders of instrumental ensembles in the following areas are represented: traditional Western European (symphony, chamber, opera, and musical theater orchestra), concert and marching bands, and jazz (big bands).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810829304/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i3
1995
(Jazz Man's Journey chronicles the life and career of, Ell...)
Jazz Man's Journey chronicles the life and career of, Ellis Louis Marsalis, Jr., one of New Orleans' most vivacious and talented jazz musicians. From his childhood in a rural section of New Orleans, to solo appearances with the New Orleans/Louisiana Philharmonic, as well as appearances at Carnegie Recital Hall, Newport Jazz Festival, and Harvard University, this unprecedented biography accurately portrays Marsalis not only as a pianist and a Columbia recording artist, but also as a successful teacher, composer, lecturer, father, and human being.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578860067/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i1
1999
Dorothy Antoinette Handy-Miller was born on October 29, 1930, in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. She was a daughter of William Talbot Handy, a minister, and Darthney Pauline Pleasant Handy, a homemaker and music teacher.
From 1946 to 1949, Dorothy studied at Spelman College. She also attended the New England Conservatory of Music, where she received a Bachelor of Music in 1952.
In 1953, she also received a Master of Music from Northwestern University and a diploma from Paris National Conservatory in 1955.
In 1954 Handy joined the Orchestre International in Paris, receiving an artist's diploma from the Conservatoire in 1955. The next year she was in Geneva's Music Viva Orchestra and undertook a tour in Germany as flutist within a trio, sponsored by the United States Information Office. Returning to the United States in 1956, she was engaged first as a travel agent and then, a union member, she was affiliated with Toscanini's Symphony of the Air conducted by Leonard Bernstein, the Orchestra of America (1960-1962), the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, and the Richmond Symphony (1966-1976), during which period she wrote for the Afro-American, presented three programs at the Smithsonian Institution, and was commentator on Richmond radio.
From 1968 to 1971, she was in New York, a member of the Symphony of the New World. She also appeared in California with the Bach Festival Orchestra in Carmel. She dedicated much of her time then to the Trio Pro Viva, an ensemble with piano and cello, whose membership varied, but which was dedicated to the performance of works by Black composers. In 1984, Handy moved to Washington to join the National Endowment for the Arts. Five years later, she became director of its music program, supervising the federal agency's awarding of grants to composers, performers and musical institutions. She left the endowment in 1993 to return to writing and teaching, joining the faculty of Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi.
Like her sister, she was also dedicated to the documentation of women in music, as shown in her publications: Black women in American bands and orchestras (1998), The International Sweethearts of Rhythm (1983); jazz man's journey; a biography of Louis Ellis Marsalis, Jr.(1999), and Black conductors (1995). She also held various teaching positions: Florida A&M University for one semester, New York College of Music (1956-1957), Metropolitan Music School (1956-1963), Harlem YMCA (1957-1959), and even as a music therapist at the Alfred Alder Mental Hygiene Clinic and Music Rehabilitation Center. With the arrival of the Civil Rights Movement, she and her husband joined the faculty at the Tuskegee Institute (1963-1964), then Jackson State University (1964-1966), Virginia State (1966-1971), and Southern University (1966).
She was also an artist-in-residence for the school system in Richmond from 1978-1980. As a Ford Foundation Fellow in 1971, she was engaged in research in Durham and Chapel Hill NC, publishing the results in Black music; Opinions and reviews in 1974 and various journals. She then returned to Virginia State, directing the Office of Education's Special Student Services.
(The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, a popular women'...)
1983(Black Conductors is the first collective biography of Bla...)
1995(Jazz Man's Journey chronicles the life and career of, Ell...)
1999Handy took on controversial issues such as the scarcity of black musicians in symphony orchestras and other classical-music groups.
Quotations: "I always fought to get people to recognize jazz as an art form."
On April 19, 1959, Dorothy married Calvin Montgomery Miller, a retired university professor and political scientist. They had three children, Zanda Michelle, Talbot Blaine and Uzoma Obiora.