The HistoryMakers Video Oral History with George Shirley

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The HistoryMakers Video Oral History with George Shirley

6/10/2010; 10/25/2012

https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/A2010.045

Music instructor and opera singer George Shirley (1934 - ) is a professor of voice at the University of Michigan, and in 1961, he became the first African American tenor to earn a contract with the Metropolitan Opera. Shirley was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on 6/10/2010 and 10/25/2012, in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Detroit, Michigan. This collection is comprised of the video footage of the interview.

Total Sessions: 2; Total Tapes: 10; Total Run Time: 05h 00m 11s

The HistoryMakers

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SNAC Resource ID: 11636154

The HistoryMakers

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Shirley, George

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62809bd (person)

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 sch...