Shirley, George

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Opera Singer George Shirley was born on April 18, 1934 in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Irving and Daisy Shirley. By age four, Shirley had begun performing, joining his mother and father as a musical trio within the Indianapolis church community. After moving to Detroit, Michigan with his parents at age six, Shirley continued to build his musical talents, playing the baritone horn in a community band, and studying voice while a student at Northern High School. His musical acumen earned Shirley a scholarship to Wayne State University, where he performed in his first musical drama, Oedipus Rex, with the Men's Glee Club in 1955. He graduated that same year, receiving his B.S. in Music Education.

Also in 1955, Shirley became the first African American high school music teacher in the city of Detroit. A year later, after being drafted into the Army, he became the first African American to sing with the U.S. Army Chorus, where, influenced by fellow choir members, Shirley decided to pursue a career in opera. In 1959, he performed in his first staged production, Die Fledermaus, with a small company in Woodstock, New York. The following year, after winning the American Opera Auditions in New York, he was invited to play the role Rodolfo in Puccini's La Boheme in Milan, Italy. In 1961, Shirley won first prize in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, thus becoming the first African American tenor to be awarded a contract with that company, where he performed from 1961 through 1973. He played major roles in more than twenty operas, often performing with fellow African American opera pioneers Leontyne Price and Shirley Verrett. During and after his stint with the Metropolitan Opera, Shirley was a well sought tenor across the globe, appearing in productions in London, Italy, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Chicago, Boston and a host of other cities. Shirley also won a Grammy Award for a recording of his performance in Mozart's Così Fan Tutte.

In 1980, Shirley joined the staff of the University of Maryland as a professor of voice. In 1985, the University honored him with a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Award. In 1987, he returned to the Detroit area, as a professor of voice at the University of Michigan, and five years later, he was named the Joseph Edgar Maddy Distinguished University Professor of Voice. In 2007, Shirley was named the Joseph Edgar Maddy Distinguished University Emeritus Professor of Voice upon his retirement.

George Shirley was interviewed byThe HistoryMakerson June 10, 2010.

From The HistoryMakers™ biography: https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/A2010.045

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Weigl, Karl, 1881-1949. The Karl Weigl Papers. 1894-1986 (inclusive). Yale University, Music Library
creatorOf Guelph Spring Festival Archives. Correspondence, contracts and information concerning the Master Classes, 1983. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
creatorOf Philadelphia Orchestra. Transcription of WFLN radio broadcast [sound recording], 1968 April 4. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
creatorOf Anderson, Marian, 1897-1993,. Classical music and the Afro-American [sound recording] : an interview of Marian Anderson conducted by George Shirley, April 9, 1974 on WQXR. University of Pennsylvania Library
creatorOf Guelph Spring Festival Archives. Correspondence, biographies, and articles related to various soloists, 1983. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
creatorOf Indiana University, Bloomington. Dept. of Afro-American Studies. Interview with George Shirley [videorecording] / Afro-American Studies. Indiana University Archives of African American Music & Culture, AAAMC
creatorOf Philadelphia Orchestra. Transcription of WFLN radio broadcast [sound recording], 1974 April 19 and 20. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Symphony of the New World. Symphony of the New World records, [ca. 1972-1977]. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
creatorOf Philadelphia Orchestra. Transcription of WFLN radio broadcast [sound recording], 1962 December 16. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
creatorOf Shirley, George. Correspondence with Marian Anderson, 1977. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
creatorOf Philadelphia Orchestra. Transcription of WFLN radio broadcast [sound recording], 1973 March 23 and 24. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
creatorOf WQXR (Radio station : New York, N.Y.). Correspondence with Marian Anderson, 1959-1974. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
creatorOf Philadelphia Orchestra. Transcription of WFLN radio broadcast [sound recording], 1972 August 3. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
creatorOf Philadelphia Orchestra. Transcription of WFLN radio broadcast [sound recording], 1963 December 22. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf The HistoryMakers Video Oral History with George Shirley The HistoryMakers
Relation Name
associatedWith Anderson, Marian, 1897-1993, person
associatedWith Guelph Spring Festival Archives. corporateBody
associatedWith Guelph Spring Festival Archives. corporateBody
associatedWith Indiana University, Bloomington. Dept. of Afro-American Studies. corporateBody
associatedWith Philadelphia Orchestra. corporateBody
associatedWith Symphony of the New World. corporateBody
associatedWith Weigl, Karl, 1881-1949. person
associatedWith WQXR (Radio station : New York, N.Y.). corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Ann Arbor (Mich.)
Ann Arbor (Mich.)
Indianapolis (Ind.)
Subject
Occupation
Music Instructor
Opera Singer
Performer
Activity

Person

Birth 1934-04-18

Birth 19340418

Americans

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