Marian Anderson ^{(February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993)} was an American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century.   Most of her singing career was spent performing in concert and recital in major music venues and with major orchestras throughout the United States and Europe between 1925-1965.

An African-American, Anderson became an important figure in the struggle for black artists to overcome racial prejudice in the United States during the mid twentieth century.

In January 7, 1955 - Marian Anderson became the first black American, to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.  

Some time back in 1939, Easter Sunday on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. to a crowd of more than 75,000 people and a radio audience in the millions, Anderson performed a critically acclaimed open-air concert which had started breaking the barriers for black artists in the United States - with the aid of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Anderson later became an important symbol of grace and beauty during the civil rights movement in the 1960s, notably singing at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.

She also worked for several years as a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee and as a "goodwill ambassadress" for the United States Department of State.

Early Life
Marian was the eldest of the three Anderson children.   Her two sisters, Alice (later spelled Alyse) (1899-1965) and Ethel (1902-1990), also became singers.   Ethel DePreist (née' Anderson) became mother to noted conductor James DePreist.

Anderson's parents were both devout Christians and the whole family was highly active in the Union Baptist Church in South Philadelphia.   Marian's Aunt Mary — John Berkley's sister — was particularly active in the church's musical life and, noticing her niece's talent, convinced her to join the junior church choir at the age of six ⁽⁶⁾.

Marian's Dad died of heart failure at the age of 34, just after the Christmas of 1909. She attended Stanton Grammar School, graduating from there in the summer of 1912.   Her family, however, could not afford to send her to high school, nor could they pay for any music lessons.

After high school, Marian applied to an all-white music school, the Philadelphia Music Academy (now University of the Arts), but was turned away because she was black.   Marian's principal of her high school offered to help her and enabled her to meet a very respected talented music teacher- Giuseppe Boghetti.

Marian auditioned for him singing 'Deep River', he was immediately brought to tears. Undaunted, Anderson pursued studies privately with Giuseppe Boghetti and Agnes Reifsnyder in her native city through the continued support of the Philadelphia black community.

Career
In 1925 Anderson got her first big break when she won first prize in a singing competition sponsored by the New York Philharmonic.   As the winner she got to perform in concert with the orchestra on August 27, 1925; a performance that scored immediate success with both audience and music critics.

In 1930 Anderson made her European debut in a concert in Wigmore Hall in London where she was received enthusiastically.   She spent the early 1930s touring throughout Europe where she did not encounter the racial prejudices she had experienced in America.

While in Europe, Anderson had the opportunity to work with talented individuals like the Finnish pianist Kosti Vehanen who became her regular accompanist and her vocal coach for many years.   She also met Jean Sibelius through Vehanen after he had heard her in a concert in Helsinki.

Sibelius notably made a new arrangement of the song "Solitude" and dedicated it to Anderson in 1939.   In 1935, Anderson made her first recital appearance in New York at Town Hall which received highly favorable reviews by music critics.

During a 1935 tour in Salzburg, the famed conductor Arturo Toscanini told her she had a voice "heard once in a hundred years" Once he heard her sing, he knew instantly that with a rich voice like hers, there was no way that she could fail.

In the late 1930s, Anderson gave about 70 recitals a year in the United States.   Although by now quite famous, her stature did not completely end the prejudice she confronted as a young black singer touring the United States.   She was still denied rooms in certain American hotels and was not allowed to eat in certain American restaurants.

Mid life
During World War II and the Korean War, Marian Anderson participated by entertaining the troops in hospitals and bases.   On 17 July 1943; Bethel, Connecticut - Anderson married architect Orpheus H. Fisher^{(1900—1986)}, known as King.   The couple had purchased a 100-acre (0.40 km2) farm in Danbury, Connecticut.

Through the years Fisher built many outbuildings on the property that became known as Marianna Farm, including an acoustic rehearsal studio he designed for his wife.   The property remained Anderson's home for more than 50 years.

In 1957, she sang for President Dwight D. Eisenhower's inauguration and toured India and the Far East as a goodwill ambassadress through the U.S. State Department and the American National Theater and Academy. In 1958 she was officially designated delegate to the United Nations, a formalization of her role as "goodwill ambassadress" of the U.S. which she had played earlier.

In 1961 she sang for President John F. Kennedy's inauguration, and in 1962 she performed for President Kennedy and other dignitaries in the East Room of the White House, and also toured Australia.

In 1965, she christened the nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine, USS George Washington Carver.   That same year Anderson made her farewell tour, after which she retired from public performance. The international tour began at Constitution Hall on October 1964 and ended at Carnegie Hall on April 18, 1965.

Later life
Although Anderson retired from singing in 1965, she continued to appear publicly.

She received many awards which include the UN Peace Prize in 1972 , the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit in 1973, the Congressional Gold Medal in 1977, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, the George Peabody Medal in 1981, the National Medal of Arts in 1984, and a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1991.

In 1986, Anderson's husband, Orpheus Fisher, died after 43 years of marriage.   Anderson remained in residence at Marianna Farm until 1992.

In 1993, Anderson died of congestive heart failure a month after a stroke at age 96 in Portland, Oregon at the home of her nephew, conductor James DePreist.   She is interred at Eden Cemetery, in Collingdale, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia.

Although the bucolic property was sold to developers, various preservationist as well as the City of Danbury fought to protect Anderson's studio.   In 2004, the said structure had been relocated, restored and opened to the public by the Danbury Museum and Historical Society after receiving a grant from the State of Connecticut.

This page is a tribute to Marian Anderson.   Her life, Her voice, Her music opening doors for hope,peace and understanding.