Clarissa Wilhelmina Burton Cumbo (January 15, 1903 – August 20, 1988) was an American musician and arts patron, based in New York and born in the British West Indies.

Early life

Clarissa Wilhelmina Burton was born in Roseau, Dominica, the daughter of English-born Davies Charles Burton (1855–1919) and Jane Elizabeth Pinard Burton (1872–1948). Her father was a cathedral organist and choir director. She moved to New York as a girl, with her family.

Career

Clarissa Cumbo was trained as a pianist and singer. She toured with

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

in ''

The Chocolate Dandies ''The Chocolate Dandies'' is a Broadway musical in two acts that opened September 1, 1924, at the New Colonial Theatre and ran for 96 performances – finishing November 22, 1924. Initial production The 1924 debut of ''The Chocolate Dandies' ...

'' revue in the 1920s. In 1942, she and her husband joined a committee of "prominent citizens" of Harlem, along with

Countee Cullen Countee Cullen (born Countee LeRoy Porter; May 30, 1903 – January 9, 1946) was an American poet, novelist, children's writer, and playwright, particularly well known during the Harlem Renaissance. Early life Childhood Countee LeRoy Porter ...

, Shelton Hale Bishop, and Leathe Colvert Hemachandra, to judge a competition for young singers. In the 1940s, Cumbo helped to organize the State Orchestra, an interracial ensemble, and the Cosmopolitan Little Symphony, which performed under

Everett Lee Everett Astor Lee (August 31, 1916 – January 12, 2022) was an American symphonic conductor, opera music director, violinist and music scholar. He was the first African American to conduct a Broadway musical, the first to "conduct an establishe ...

. She founded Community Friends of Music in 1950, to promote concerts by Black musicians. In the 1960s she co-organized the charity Friends of the

Symphony of the New World The Symphony of the New World was a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It was the first racially integrated orchestra in the United States. The Symphony gave its debut concert on 6 May 1965 at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Benjamin Steinb ...

; her husband played cello in the symphony they supported. In 1970 she and her husband founded a nonprofit organization, Triad Presentations, nurturing and supporting the work of Black composers and musicians. Triad Presentations held an annual concert at Alice Tully Hall. Clarissa Cumbo received the Howard Jackman Memorial Award from the National Association of Negro Musicians in 1979, "in recognition of her many years of service to composers and musicians." In 1985, the Cumbos were honored by the Harlem School of the Arts for their contributions to classical arts education.

Personal life

In 1924, Clarissa Burton married cellist Marion William Cumbo (1899–1990). They had a son, William Burton Cumbo (1926–1963), who served in the

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during

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. She became an American citizen in 1943. She died in 1988, in New York, aged 85 years.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cumbo, Clarissa Burton 1903 births 1988 deaths American arts administrators People from Roseau African-American musicians Dominica emigrants to the United States 20th-century African-American people