Background
Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, Feb. 27, 1897.
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Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, Feb. 27, 1897.
In her second year in high school she attracted the attention of John Thomas Butler, distinguished black actor, who sent her to Mary S. Patterson for serious vocal training.
Shortly thereafter the Philadelphia Choral Society arranged for her to study with Agnes Reifsnyder, leading contralto. Later she was instructed by Giuseppe Boghetti. Despite a triumph, she experienced difficulty in securing engagements because of her race. She consequently went to Europe, where she established herself as a leading contralto. She sang for Sibelius, who later dedicated his song Solitude to her. In 1935 she began her successful American tour with a concert in Town Hall, New York. In 1936 she sang in the White House, and in 1939, when the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to permit her to sing in Constitution Hall in Washington, D. C. , Harold Ickes, secretary of the interior, arranged for her to sing from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where more than 75, 000 gathered to hear her. Her autobiography, My Lord, What a Morning, appeared in 1956. In 1957 she made a singing tour of the Far East sponsored by the United Nations and in 1958 was named delegate to the UN by President Eisenhower. In 1964, following a series of farewell concerts, she retired from the music world. She died Apr. 8, 1993, in Portland, Oregon, United States.
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Quotes from others about the person
Music critic Alan Blyth said: "Her voice was a rich, vibrant contralto of intrinsic beauty. "