"THE MATINEE IDOL"



Leslie was exactly that, suave,debonair and his voice a thing of beauty.
His stunning good looks and charm made him an absolute winner, especially with the ladies.
Hollywood had already defined their idea of male beauty in actors such as Clark Gable, Alan Ladd, Sir Lawrence Olivier, and Tyrone power to name a few.
Leslie was all that and more!! But he arrived on the scene when the art world rejected people of color, whose abilities demeanor and excellence posed a seeming threat to the white establishment.
Maybe I seem somewhat prejudiced or one sided; but I think I have that right because Leslie,(Leslie Scott) was my father. A man who exemplified for me, all that I thought a great artist and true representation of masculine beauty should be.
When he walked into a room or down the street, frequently people would gasp or take a moment to catch that little extra glance. I loved it because I knew they recognized in him a true "Matinee Idol".

The shot above displays what was so very obvious.

In my memoir which I am still writing, I am much more forthcoming with regards to our father son relationship and the respect he earned from friends and colleagues.
Recently we acknowledged the passing of one of his leading ladies in "Porgy and Bess"Ms Gloria Davy.She left us on November 28th 2012 at the age of 81.
Ms Gloria Davy was born in Brooklyn New York March 28th 1931.
She made her home in Geneva Switzerland where she passed after a very long illness.
These images of her help us to remember an elegance of a time long gone.
The picture with my father was shortly after she replaced Leontyne Price in the role of Bess.





Ms Davy had performed fifteen roles in four seasons at The Metropolitan Opera but because of racial sickness in our country she was forced to seek employment abroad, where more roles were offered and not denied because of her color. "A Tremendous Loss"for The USA.
Here is a small review written in an Italian newspaper in Milano concerning Leslie and Ms Davy in their debut at the famed "La Scala" Opera house.
In a way I wish they had been critiqued more for their vocal excellence rather than (as they put it) "The Torrid Love Scene".In which I'm sure they were most titivating.
On and off stage they were simply "Delicious.

In this most historic photo we see Leslie Scott, Leontyne Price and Cab Calloway (Sportin Life) in a recording session of Porgy and Bess at CBS. Notice the insignia on the microphone.

Leslie had toured the world with Ms Price and was fortunate to have replacements of similar excellence when destiny called, and the voice of the century was born !!!!


Leontyne Price set a standard of vocal beauty that to this day has not been surpassed.
Those of us who were there at her beginnings will never forget the many moments.

Last but not least we see Leslie Scott, Helen Hayes and Martha Flowers. Another understudy to Ms Price.
Not so well known of his leading ladies was Irene Williams depicted in this article from Jet Magazine.

Although Leslie Scott passed at age 48, his accomplishments were many.
The matinee idol with shoes to big for anyone to fill, he is still remembered by many as a romantic, an artist,a friend and a Father.
He was our true, "Matinee Idol"


Sent from my iPad

"ODE TO JOY"
SINGER ON A MISSION




Vincent Dion Stringer is a man of great vision. Not for himself alone but for young artists who are willing to invest their
heart and soul to commit to becoming a consummate communicator.
Since I arrived on the campus of Morgan State university I have witnessed his unselfish leadership as coordinator of Vocal Studies for The Department of Fine and Performing Arts of which he heads, as Assistant Professor and Artistic Director of OPERA at Morgan.
We have all recognized as faculty and students, how fortunate we are to be led by an artist of international status. Acclaimed for the beauty of his Bass Baritone and his knowledge of Operatic Literature, Musicianship,and stage presence, he sets a standard and a tremendous sense of pride.
Tonight we witnessed his artistry as soloist in Beethoven's Ninth symphony,held at Chizuk Amuno Congrgation of Baltimore under the direction of Maestro T. Herbert Dimmock.
Mr. Stringer shared the stage with other soloists, plus THE MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY CHOIR led by Dr. Eric Conway,
and THE MARYLAND STATE BOYCHOIR,Stephen Holmes, Artistic Director.
There were well over one hundred voices and they were accompanied by THE BACH CONCERT SERIES CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA which topped off the presentation and was truly lovely.
As I sat taking it all in, I saw a community perpetuating the very idea that Mr.Stringer is slowly nurturing in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Morgan.
On our Morgan Website you can see from the past and present, some of the exciting projects he has put together.
He involves the entire ARTISTIC COMMUNITY AT MORGAN creating a support system.
This is a rare insight and a blessing. He reminds us that it does take a VILLAGE. This is a man on a mission!!!

FINDING HER VOICE

Finding her voice: How Barbara Smith Conrad sang her way into civil-rights history


By JOSH MAX

Barbara Smith Conrad at home

Barbara Smith Conrad closes her eyes and draws a deep breath in the kitchen of her upper West Side apartment. A moment later, the room is filled with rich, soaring tones that seem to come from the bottom of her soul as she sings a spiritual she's known since she was 6:
"Lord, I feel like my time ain't long/Lord, I feel like my time ain't long/Lord, I feel like my time ain't long ..."
It's a sound that has carried the mezzo-soprano all the way from the tiny town of Pittsburg, Tex., where she was born in 1940, to the Metropolitan Opera and far beyond.
A New Yorker since 1959, Conrad has lived in this drop-dead gorgeous, two-bedroom apartment since 1971. It's a suitably diva-fabulous abode: The office, or "green room," is decorated with placid celery-green walls, green floor, green ceiling, green chandelier and green candles. The living room, where she receives scores of vocal students these days, is dominated by a Baldwin grand piano offset by violet walls, and the lengthy hallway is decorated with photos of Conrad singing with Placido Domingo and other opera stars.
The only remaining survivor of five siblings, Conrad says she considers her New York students kin. April Haines, Conrad's student and friend of 18 years and a singer in the Metropolitan Opera chorus, says the feeling's mutual.
"Barbara brings the concept of family to people she knows here in New York," Haines says. "And we, her students, come to her as family. But she is a New York institution all by herself, too."
Conrad still performs at select benefits and charity functions, and is known for her work to preserve and celebrate Negro spirituals. Her alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin, recently named her artistic adviser/ambassador for the collection of Negro spirituals at its Center for American History.
Any successful career in the arts is rife with rejection and setbacks, but Conrad's were unique to a young black girl growing up in a racist South. "I was 10 when an adult friend was murdered," she says. "I saw them jack the body out of the creek. I saw people lynched and dragged behind pickup trucks, so I had a real respect about how cruel the world could be. You knew you had to obey those implied boundaries, you knew better than to go to certain places."
Her experience with those boundaries came to a head in 1957 as a sophomore student at the University of Texas, when she was known by her birth name Barbara Smith. (She later added her father's first name, Conrad, as a tribute to him.) After auditioning for and winning the lead role of Dido in the English opera "Dido and Aeneas" by Henry Purcell, Conrad was informed by the dean that she could not perform.
"The incident became a national scandal after the story appeared in the Houston Post," she says. "I was threatened and harassed on a daily basis. It was awful. But I tell you, people rallied around us.
"Once the story broke, a friend named Inez Jeffrey took me home, saying, 'Girl, you are going to get yourself killed.'"
Jeffrey wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt on the young singer's behalf, Conrad says, and the former First Lady responded with a check for $5,000 and an introduction to the National Urban League, which stood behind the soprano. Conrad's black female classmates also shielded their friend by calling themselves "Barbara Smith" on campus in order to confuse antagonists.
Word of the incident reached singer Harry Belafonte in New York, then at the pinnacle of international stardom in the wake of his album "Calypso," which had spent 31 weeks at No.1 on the charts a year earlier.
"Mr. Belafonte called and offered to send me to a school of my choice," Conrad says.
Belafonte, reached by telephone, well remembers the emotions that the soprano's plight stirred in him. "I called Barbara to tell her the world had heard her story," he says. "I'd read about it in the Herald Tribune in New York, and I was just incensed." Conrad says, "I became a star for a few days because of Harry Belafonte, people wanting to touch me. The whole dorm was buzzing. He called me 'Tex Nightingale.'"
While her newfound attention contrasted sharply with the antagonism she received at her school, the young singer declined Belafonte's tuition offer, preferring to remain at the University of Texas.
"I was just that stubborn," she says. "I wasn't going anyplace. It was agin' my nature!"
At the same time, she adds, "I also have to say that having all those famous people behind you is what gives you a certain strength of character, and you can keep your dignity and your pride and your sense of humor."
The incident wasn't the end of Conrad's experience with racism, but the same fortitude and sense of humor carried her through other challenges.
"I had to do a school report on the movie 'The Bad Seed,' and the [theater] where it was showing was segregated," she says. "I called ahead and got permission to attend, but when they saw me coming, they freaked out and said, 'No, you can't come in.' So my friend took me to the school's costume department, put a dot on my forehead and a veil over my face and waltzed me in."
Belafonte stayed in touch with Conrad and arranged for her to come to New York City after her graduation. "[I] told her I would handle all expenses, and we'd see where we went from there," he says. "She came, she sang, and it was absolutely stunning."
The star used Conrad whenever he needed a choir on his records. "Part of her early livelihood was assured by the amount of record work I got her, backup singing for me and other artists as well," he says. "But I knew she would get to the Met and achieve success on her own level."
Conrad did go on to wide success, touring South America and Europe with assorted opera groups in the 1970s, and signing contracts with both the Met and the Vienna State Opera companies in 1981. In 1984, the then-president of the University of Texas invited her back, and she appeared in Earl Stewart's opera "Al-Inkishafi" there. She was also named Distinguished Alumnus, and she returns to the university almost every year. She sang for Pope John Paul II at a Mass in New Jersey in 1995, and has several CDs in print.
At 65, Conrad looks as vibrant as she did in the decades-old photos hanging from the walls of the apartment, and she says she's going on dates. She shrugs off compliments, though, assigning her looks to "good cheekbones" as well as genetics. With a wink, she says, "Black don't crack."
*****
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NURTURING

The Balance of Marriage/Home, Parenting, Teaching and Career

A Conversation

By Janice C. Eteme, B.A., M.M





My life, as a wife and mother, has taken the first position on my list of daily priorities. The challenges that come along with parenting effectively, are particularly difficult in a fast paced, technological, information obsessed society.

Teaching here at Morgan has also been a challenge, but I have grown personally and professionally each year that I have had the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful team of professionals, while tutoring such bright and gifted students. My personal preparation as an artist has become a juggling act between parenting and teaching, and quite frankly, sometimes it is neglected because of failed implementation or just plain fatigue.

In preparing this conversational presentation, I felt I wanted to talk first about
The reality of my life now, my life as a professional before I became a wife and mother, and the knowledge that organization is the key to successfully managing any hectic schedule.

A One Day Example:

On Mondays I am up by 7am, preparing breakfast for my two girls, helping them
To remember all of their personal hygiene before dressing, packing lunches and getting them out the door to go to school. I then get on the treadmill, or do floor exercises for 30 to 45 minutes , vocalize for 15 minutes, before getting ready to head out the door to teach my first student at Morgan. I generally leave around 2 or 2:15pm, get my girls from school, take them to piano and violin lessons respectively, before heading home around 5:30 pm. I then monitor homework assignments, prepare dinner, prep the girls for bed and prep for my Lyric Diction class, and my applied voice students, before retiring to bed. I will spare you my daily schedule as each day has a different set of day and afterschool activities. This schedule is probably similar to the schedules of those of you who are also parents.

As a young unmarried professional, my time was completely my own. All of my personal time off the road, was spent listening to, studying, and learning scores of music. I practiced incessantly, usually two to three hours a day. Spending my free time shopping , and going out with friends. Sometimes I was lonely when travelling on the road, but because I was singing, and still do sing mostly concert repertoire, my stays on the road were then, and are now, only about 5 to 7 days. I enjoyed my freedom as a young professional and I always did my very best, and still do.


Organization is now the only way to maintain all the different spokes in my everyday “ wheel of life”. Carving out time to take care of my family, myself, and to practice each day while teaching and preparing for my classes and upcoming performances is what I live for now, this is my life. This is he life that I have loved and chosen. It is a wonderful life, a challenging life and because of all those challenges and successes, it is a good life.

Organization takes on several parts:


1. The organization of your schedule, knowing and accounting for every hour of your day is most helpful, especially when you have a family. This will ensure that daily time is not wasted.

2. The organization of your mind is essential. What do I mean by the organization of your mind? Often people become bogged down mentally because they are not actively focused on what is most important, presently, and what their ultimate life goals are. Ask yourself the following questions: Where do I want to be living in 5 years or 10 years? What do I want to be doing professionally? Do I want to get married and have a family? Would I be happier if I remained single and childless? How much money will I need to live comfortably in my life? What kind of house do I want to live in? Will I be active in my community or church? Do I want to travel abroad? Do I want to live abroad? How much money will I need to retire? These are just a few of the questions you should ask yourself and answer, so that you can sweep out any clutter in your thought process or get rid of anything that would cause your thinking to be fuzzy or cloudy as you move forward.

3. The organization of your finances is also essential. Spending your time wisely and well in school, making the best use of monies being spent on your education, counting the cost of every decision you make, thinking of not only the short term consequences but long term consequences of all of your choices concerning your money. Being mindful of how much you are spending on what, and why. Remembering to get in the habit of saving money and staying out of debt as much as possible. If you are already in debt, be as responsible as you can in paying off those debts. This is very important.

4. The Organization of your Life Purpose is also important. I already mentioned some of the questions you might ask yourself. After asking yourself those questions, and writing down the responses, construct a Life Purpose Report.




Example:



I was born: 12/28/1965
I went to school: Dupont Park SDA Church school
I was taught to be honest, committed, hard working, kind, forgiving etc.
I went to College and Graduate School: Oakwood and Indiana University
I have sung for twenty years all over the world, recorded, given recitals, sung operas etc.

My Purpose in Life, as a mature adult is to:

Evolve spiritually by listening to, and following God
Properly rear my children
Be fearless as an artist/educator
Be unselfish and heal with my voice and words
Be responsible for my gift of good health
Become more scholarly, so that I can be a part
Of a fundamental transformation of the educational system
in Baltimore.
Leave the people I have known and loved more encouraged
to carry on and take the road less traveled.


What is your Purpose Report going to say?

What are some other areas of essential organization that you can think of?


THIS IS THE KIND OF NURTURING OFFERED BY FACULTY MEMBERS AT "MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY"

CURTAIN TIME AT MORGAN

The show goes up on campus with President David Wilson in the leading role.
He has managed to have the support of the entire University, alumni and community in maintaining his position as President. There was talk that his contract was not going to be renewed. However, the community (chorus), with great resonance had their say.

The show goes on as Dr. Wilson adds to his role the ground breaking, for a new building to be added to the campus. Heightened security measures, and an already increase in student enrollment continues during his run of the play. He also has the distinction of procuring the University's largest-ever research contract, $28.5 million. I would say he deserves to have an encore. Take a bow Dr. Wilson!

The next scene displays the magnificent vocal gifts of Ms. Leah Hawkins (Mezzo-soprano). She stands out as one of the young voices that truly bring to mind the rich heritage of her predecessors. We in the vocal studies salute her recent accomplishment of being selected to participate in the in The Mid-Atlantic Region Metropolitan Council Auditions at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. During the development of her role in The Fine Arts department of Morgan State, she has grown from grace to grace; the voice giving us only glimpses, of what we all know to be true. We are witnessing the birth of a world class singer.

In act two, the scene is set at the Murphy Fine Arts Center Recital Hall, the site for the Capital Region Competition of the “Negro Spiritual” Scholarship Foundation’s Grady Rayam Prize in Sacred Music hosted by the Vocal Studies program. We will convene a jury of seasoned artists and educators to adjudicate seventeen young high school singers who aspire to a college education. We will bear witness to their ability to bring to the scene, both traditional and a newly arranged Negro Spirituals. These young singers will share the purity, richness and beauty of these national treasures. Who will earn the honor of carrying on this legacy and great tradition on Saturday, February 16, 2013?

The next scene serves to remind us that true excellence stands the test of time.
Coming to the stage of The Murphy Fine Arts Center in The Gilliam Concert Hall we are taken on a journey that will leave us with a most delicious taste. "Sweet Honey in the Rock" on March 8, 2013 will bring a musical gift of nostalgia that fills with joy, those of us who remember, and help to educate and enlighten the young people of a new generation.

Once again the curtain rises April 11, 2013 on the Department of Fine and Performing Arts collaboration of the Broadway show "The COLOR PURPLE". This production is directed by Shirley Basfield Dunlap and with musical direction by Melvin N. Miles. As a part of this departmental collaboration the voice faculty has assisted with the auditioning and casting of the show. It was an honor to collaborate on a team so devoted to excellence and committed to putting in place a beautiful collage of characters and voices that warm the heart. In this process, I observed Ms. Dunlap’s gift for details and her skillful ability to make the scene memorable.

In this last act we are shown how dreams come true. Back in the 1960's a young man who happened to be a dear friend, expressed his disdain for the fact that African American Ballet dancers were being ignored in this country. He himself was the only working black male ballet dancer at that time, other than John Jones of Jerome Robbins Ballet USA. Of course I speak of none other than Arthur Mitchell, soloist in the famed New York City Ballet.

Arthur was our token black, and dreamed of someday having an all-black ballet company. Well that dream has for a long time been realized and on May 5, 2013 "The Dance Theatre of Harlem" Directed and Choreographed by Arthur Mitchell will dazzle the audiences of Murphy Fine Arts Center in the Gilliam Concert Hall.

So for now the CURTAIN AT MORGAN descends. Only to rise again and share with you the artistic beauty and academic excellence that is, MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY.

"ARTIST IN RESIDENCE"

So here it is Mid Semester at Morgan State University and I have taken my place on vocal faculty as the university's first Artist in Residence. I have been received with genuine warmth and sincerity from the entire institution.
I was assigned some fifteen students, all who have extraordinary vocal gifts. The vocal faculty members, are all very fine teachers and are active performing artists. Camaraderie amongst us makes for a very strong department; as head of the vocal department Vincent Dion Stringer is a gem. Totally supportive, forward thinking and creatively motivated. Always working toward helping us to turn out young artists who can step up to the plate well prepared. He wears many hats and they suite him well.
It was Vincent who sang my praises and urged the performing arts Chair to move toward hiring me as a full time faculty member.Vincent and I share a very special bond in that, some years back he asked me to be a member of his renowned "New England Spiritual Ensemble".  We toured the United States and were overwhelmingly received.         

Leading the company with his divine Bass Baritone his dream of  preserving the African American Spiritual had become a reality. Opera Houses of the world had long been fortunate enough to hear his rich Baritone. It is that experience then, that has led us to this very special time in both our careers.  Having great respect for the beauty of each others gifts.

Dr. Eric Conway is Chair of the Fine Arts Department and Conductor of The Morgan State University Choir.
 His duties as administrator are overwhelming! He seems to breeze through the maze of departmental machinery with absolute aplomb. What was so exciting for me,was experiencing his musical gifts.
An accomplished Harpsichordist and Pianist of absolute excellence, I felt honored to be apart of his staff.
Both Mr. Stringer and He have made it clear, that my experience and knowledge were an important asset to Morgan State University, embracing me with love and care.
I fell in love with Baltimore when I was asked by Vincent to come and give a Master Class and later The Summer Opera Workshop, well over a year ago.
I still commute to New York to teach but my home is clearly here in Maryland. Etta and I have very busy and exciting lives. She being hired in the Maryland educational system long before myself, is head of the music department in a school for special needs children in Parksville MD. A job that requires near sainthood.
We love our new home and as for myself, Morgan State has become a second home. Beauty abounds and I'm more free than ever,  in my position as " ARTIST IN RESIDENCE"

  

The Grand Finale

It certainly has been a while since I've been able to find time to let you know what I've been up to!!!

I have completed my spring semester commuting from Maryland to New York City, teaching every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Needless to say it was quite an undertaking which I seem to have ordered with as little stress as possible. It wasn't all that easy; I only wish I had stock in Amtrak.

My season at the New School culminated with a performance by the students from my Wednesday morning two hour class "Story, Song, and Stage." I have to say I was very proud of the sophistication and professionalism they gave. Well attended and well received, their choice of material was a delight. Such interesting pieces as "Ballad for Very Tired and Very Sad Lotus-Eaters" by Fred Hersch to Lady Gaga's  "Telephone". Each one of the students gave a superb performance, but I think it was a general feeling from the class that we all fell in love with the performance of  Dacia King's mesmerizing delivery of  "The Peacocks" " (A timeless place)"  By Bill Evans. This class and my individual classes at the school showed tremendous vocal progress and revealed the hard work they all put in during this semester.

However, following their Thursday, April 26 performance, I  presented some of my private students with my wife Etta and myself in a studio recital Saturday, April 28 at Chelsea Studios Theater Works. Andy Watt, Tenor, sang his first performance: a solo aria and duet with Soprano Alexis Ruiz (Parigio Cara). I could have burst I was so proud!!! Alexis, in her solo aria "Io son lumile ancella" soared to new vocal heights and won the hearts of her audience. Her father, with tears in his eyes, was overjoyed.  Etta's beautifully sung "L'amero saro costante" coupled with she and I singing "the Cherry Duet," "Nocturne," from Don Pasquale, and, myself, "Languir per una bella" made for some lovely well presented moments. 

Last but by no means least, was Dramatic Mezzo  Soprano Wendy Gerbier who literally took the roof off with her rendition of Ulrica's aria from  Un Ballo in Maschera "Re dell"abisso affrettati." She recently sang for one of President Obama's rallies in Connecticut and is making her Paris debut in February 2013. A few days ago she was hired to perform in New York in a full length "Aida" as Amneris. She and I have worked very hard to find the freedom that her magnificent gift deserves.

After all that good singing on Saturday I was to sing again on the coming Monday.  MISTAKE!!!!! Call it stress, nerves, who knows??? Not the GRAND FINALE I expected.