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Marian Anderson Biography
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Biography: Life of
Marian Anderson
Born 1897, Died 1993
Marian Anderson was born on February 27, 1897 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She began singing at the age of six with the junior choir of the Union Baptist Church where she was known as the baby contralto. As a teenager, Marian Anderson began to visit other churches, accepting invitations to sing.
At fifteen Marian Anderson began taking voice lessons with black soprano, Mary Saunders Patterson. A benefit concert held by the Philadelphia Choral Society enabled Anderson to study with contralto Agnes Reifsnyder.
After graduating from South Philadelphia High, Marian Anderson applied to a local music school. She was not admitted because she was black.
In 1916 Marian Anderson began studying with the sought after teacher, Guiseppe Boghetti. She began to tour black churches and colleges, earning one hundred dollars a concert.
In 1925 Marian Anderson entered a contest competing for the Lewisohn Stadium Concert award. She won the competition and the opportunity to sing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra on August 26, 1925.
Marian Anderson continued touring and on March 2, 1930 became the first black female to perform at Carnegie Hall. Anderson received scholarships to study in both England and Germany. While in Europe she performed many concerts, even before royalty. She was well received throughout Europe where there was not the strong racial prejudice seen in the United States.
In 1935 Marian Anderson performed at the international festival in Salzburg, at New York’s Town Hall and at Carnegie Hall. She then went on to tour the country.
In 1939 an attempt was made to rent Constitutional Hall in Washington, D.C. for a performance by Marian Anderson. The request was denied because she was black. Public outrage and the intervention of Eleanor Roosevelt resulted in a free concert given by Marian Anderson on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on April 9, 1939.
Marian Anderson married architect Orpheus H. Fisher in July 1943. The couple lived in Danbury, Connecticut in the home he designed called “Marianna Farm”.
Marian Anderson entertained troops in hospitals and at military bases during both World War II and the Korean War.
On January 7, 1955 Marian Anderson performed with the New York Metropolitan Opera Company in Verdi’s opera, The Masked Ball. Marian Anderson was the first black singer with the Metropolitan Opera as a regular company member.
Marian Anderson sang at the inauguration of Dwight Eisenhower in 1957 and at the inauguration of John Kennedy in 1961. Marian Anderson gave her final concert on April 19, 1965 at Carnegie Hall.
When her husband died in 1986, Marian Anderson moved to Portland, Oregon to live with a nephew. She died on April 8, 1993 of heart failure.
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