Women's History Month: Meet Dorothy Maynor, a Great Singer Opera Missed

Dorothy Maynor (born Dorothy Leigh Mainor in Norfolk, Virginia in 1910) was a highly acclaimed African American classical and spiritual singer and founder of the Harlem School of the Arts.

A daughter of a clergyman, Maynor grew up singing in church choirs until her vocal talent was spotted when her lushly sweet lyric soprano stood out while singing with the Hampton Institute Chorus. Determined to make music her career she went to Westminster Choir College upon her graduation and caught a break auditioning with Boston Symphony conductor Serge Koussevitzky during the 1939 Tanglewood Festival. He became her champion and arranged for her to sing in a recital at the New York Town Hall. The concert, which took place that November was the great success that launched her stellar career as a recitalist.

Her extraordinary sweet lyric soprano voice that retained its fullness even in highest notes and exquisite singing transcended many racial boundary (listen to this clip of her rendition of 'Depuis le jour' from Gustave Charpentier's Louise. Unlike most of her black colleagues, Maynor's singing was race-less), and she made many breakthroughs in the troubled years following desegregation. Maynor performed at the inaugurations of Presidents Truman in 1949 and Eisenhower in 1953. She sang at the Aspen Music Festival in 1949, was the first black singer to perform at the DAR's Constitution Hall in Washington, DC in 1952, and regularly appeared on radio shows.

When Maynor's husband, Rev. Shelby Rooks, suffered a heart attack in 1963 Maynor retired from singing to look after him and founded the Harlem School of the Arts to offer the cultural disadvantaged community the exposure to and the schooling in the arts. From its humble origin with Maynor acting as director, teacher, and even janitor, artistically grooming 20 black students in the basement of St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem, New York, the HSA now has over 1,000 students and occupies its own building. Dorothy Maynor died in West Chester, PA in February 1996.

Despite of her lifelong struggle with racism, Dorothy Maynor's legacy is in the positive impacts she made beyond the black community. Her recordings remain among the most cherished in classical and opera enthusiasts' collections. Her appearances at formerly 'white-only' venues opened doors to others. And though she was never afforded the opportunity to perform on the operatic stage, her 1975 admission as the first black member of the Metropolitan Opera's Board of Director made history.

Sources:
1939. Music: A Negro Singer From Virginia Makes Exciting Concert Debut, Life Magazine, December 11, p. 41-42.
1966. Fine Art School: Soprano Dorothy Maynor Heads Cultural Center, Ebony Magazine, May, p. 80-86.
1999, Berger, Bruce; Music in the Mountain: The First Fifty Years of the Aspen Music Festival, p. 5-7.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2872100052.html
http://www.harlemschoolofthearts.org