Mary Cardwell Dawson
Encyclopedia
Mary Cardwell Dawson was an African-American musician and teacher and the founding director of the National Negro Opera Company
.
Born in Meridian, North Carolina
, USA
, she moved as a child with her family to Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania
. She trained at both the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts
and the Chicago Musical College
. She taught voice privately and at the Cardwell School of Music, which she founded in 1927 in Pittsburgh. She toured in the 1930s with the Cardwell Dawson Choir, which performed at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago and at the New York World’s Fair
. Dawson served as president of the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) from 1939 to 1941.
After presenting the opera Aida
at the NANM convention of 1941, Dawson launched her National Negro Opera Company later that same year with a performance at Pittsburgh's Syria Mosque
. The star was La Julia Rhea
, and other members included Minto Cato, Carol Brice
, Robert McFerrin
, and Lillian Evanti
. NNOC mounted productions in Washington D.C., New York City
, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.
National Negro Opera Company
The National Negro Opera Company was the first African-American opera company in the United States.Organized in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, under the direction of Mary Cardwell Dawson, the company was resident in a Queen Anne-style house at 7101 Apple Street in the city's Homewood...
.
Born in Meridian, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, she moved as a child with her family to Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. She trained at both the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and the Chicago Musical College
Chicago Musical College
Chicago Musical College is a division of Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt UniversityIt was founded in 1867, less than four decades after the city of Chicago was incorporated...
. She taught voice privately and at the Cardwell School of Music, which she founded in 1927 in Pittsburgh. She toured in the 1930s with the Cardwell Dawson Choir, which performed at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago and at the New York World’s Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
. Dawson served as president of the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) from 1939 to 1941.
After presenting the opera Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
at the NANM convention of 1941, Dawson launched her National Negro Opera Company later that same year with a performance at Pittsburgh's Syria Mosque
Syria Mosque
The Syria Mosque was a performance venue, located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Constructed in 1911 and dedicated in January 1912, it was designed by Huehl, Schmidt & Holmes architectural firm of Chicago....
. The star was La Julia Rhea
La Julia Rhea
La Julia Rhea was an American operatic soprano, and a pioneering African American figure in Chicago. Rhea was trained in Louisville, Kentucky and later in Chicago. She debuted in Chicago's Kimball Hall in 1929. She continued to make regular concert performances as she studied operatic roles...
, and other members included Minto Cato, Carol Brice
Carol Brice
Carol Brice was an American contralto. Born in Sedalia, North Carolina, she studied at Palmer Memorial Institute and later at Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama, where she received a Bachelor of Music in 1939. She continued her studies at the Juilliard School of Music from 1939 to 1943...
, Robert McFerrin
Robert McFerrin
Robert McFerrin Sr. was the first African-American male to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City...
, and Lillian Evanti
Lillian Evanti
Lillian Evanti , was an African American opera singer. Evanti, a soprano, debuted in 1927 in Delibes's Lakmé at Nice, France. She graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor's Degree in music and studied in France and Italy. As an opera singer and concert artist, she toured throughout...
. NNOC mounted productions in Washington D.C., New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.