Joyce Mathis (1944
– before April 2009
) was an American
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
who was a concert artist, recitalist, and opera singer from the 1960s into the early 1990s. She is considered a part of the first generation of black classical singers to achieve success in the United States; breaking down racial barriers within the field of classical music. She won several notable singing competitions, including the
Marian Anderson Award
The Marian Anderson Award was originally established in 1943 by African American singer Marian Anderson after she was awarded the $10,000 Bok Prize that year by the city of Philadelphia. Anderson used the award money to establish a singing competi ...
in 1967 and the
Young Concert Artists
Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based non-profit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting the careers of talented young classical musicians from all over the world. The competition, founded in 1961, allows artists from all over ...
in 1968.
In 1970 she recorded the role of the High Priestess in Verdi's ''
Aida
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...
'' alongside
Leontyne Price
Mary Violet Leontyne Price (born February 10, 1927) is an American soprano who was the first African Americans, African American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera, where s ...
and
Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
.
Pullitzer Prize-winning composer
Ned Rorem
Ned Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was the leading American of his time writing in the genre. Althou ...
wrote his
song cycle
A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice ...
''Women's Voices'' for her in 1975. In 1976 she created the role of Celestina in Roger Ames's opera ''Amistad'' at the
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
. She appeared frequently in performances with
Opera Ebony
Opera Ebony is an African-American opera company that has performed in a wide variety of programs and venues, ranging from Mozart in Harlem to African-American Heritage concerts in Iceland to Gershwin in Moscow to Duke Ellington in the Caribbean. ...
and the
Boys Choir of Harlem
The Boys Choir of Harlem (also known as the Harlem Boys Choir) was a choir located in Harlem, New York City, United States. Its final performance was in 2007 and the group folded shortly thereafter due to several controversies, including a lar ...
in addition to touring widely as a recitalist and concert soprano.
Early life and career
Born in
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
, to Ezra and Nellie Mathis, Joyce Mathis graduated from the
Howard School of Academics and Technology
Howard School of Academics and Technology is a co-educational public school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Dr. Leandrea Ware is currently the Executive Principal, while Dr. Renneisen, Dr. Mitchell, Mr. Carrillo, Mrs. Farr, and Ms. Fulton are the Assi ...
in 1961.
After studying singing in her native city with J. Oscar Miller, she earned a bachelor's degree in vocal performance from
Central State University
Central State University (CSU) is a public, historically black land-grant university in Wilberforce, Ohio. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Established by the state legislature in 1887 as a two-year program for te ...
in 1965.
She then pursued graduate studies at the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...
where she was a pupil of
Florence Kimball
Florence Page Kimball (April 26, 1888 – November 24, 1977) was an American soprano who became a celebrated voice teacher at the Juilliard School where she taught for 46 years. She taught hundreds of students, and many of her pupils had success ...
, the teacher of
Leontyne Price
Mary Violet Leontyne Price (born February 10, 1927) is an American soprano who was the first African Americans, African American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera, where s ...
.
Price mentored Mathis in the early part of her career.
In 1964 Mathis was a regional winner of the
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (formerly the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions) is an annual singing competition sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera. Established in 1954, its purpose is to discover, assist ...
. In 1967 she won the
Marian Anderson Award
The Marian Anderson Award was originally established in 1943 by African American singer Marian Anderson after she was awarded the $10,000 Bok Prize that year by the city of Philadelphia. Anderson used the award money to establish a singing competi ...
.
That same year she was the soprano soloist in Beethoven's ''
Egmont Egmont may refer to:
* Egmont Group, a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark
* Egmond family (often spelled "Egmont"), an influential Dutch family, lords of the town of Egmond
** Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522–1568), the bes ...
'' with the Cosmopolitan Young Peoples Symphony Orchestra under Chilean conductor Juan Pablo Izquierdo at
Philharmonic Hall. She also performed with the
American Opera Society The American Opera Society (AOS) was a New York City-based musical organization that presented concert and semi-staged performances of operas between 1951 and 1970. The company was highly influential in sparking and perpetuating the post World War I ...
at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
in 1967 in the role of Clotilda in Bellini's ''
Norma Norma may refer to:
* Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Astronomy
*Norma (constellation)
* 555 Norma, a minor asteroid
*Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy
Geography
*Norma, Lazi ...
'' with
Elena Souliotis
Elena Souliotis (spelled Suliotis in the early part of her career; el, Έλενα Σουλιώτη; 28 May 19434 December 2004) was a Greek operatic soprano.
Biography
Elena Souliotis was born in Athens, Greece, of Greek and Russian parents but ...
in the title role and Nancy Tatum as Adalgisa; and she created the role of Gismonda in
Thomas Pasatieri
Thomas Pasatieri (born October 20, 1945) is an American opera composer.
Life and career
Pasatieri was born in New York City, United States. He began composing at age 10 and, as a teenager, studied with Nadia Boulanger. He entered the Juilliard S ...
's ''Padrevia'' at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music
The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...
.
In 1968 Mathis won the
Young Concert Artists
Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based non-profit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting the careers of talented young classical musicians from all over the world. The competition, founded in 1961, allows artists from all over ...
competition which led to her New York recital debut at the
Weill Recital Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built by ...
of
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
in March 1969. In 1968 she performed in concerts with 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 ...
, the first racially integrated orchestra in the United States, in concerts of ''
Four Last Songs
The ''Four Last Songs'' (german: Vier letzte Lieder, link=no), Op. posth., for soprano and orchestra are – with the exception of the song "Malven" (Mallows), composed later the same year – the final completed works of Richard Strauss. They ...
'' by Richard Strauss and works by
John Lewis
John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
and
Arthur Cunningham
Arthur Cunningham (born Piermont, New York on November 11, 1928, died Nyack, New York on March 31, 1997) was an American composer and educator. His students included singer Kate Davidson, producer/engineer Peter Francovilla, and pianist John Ellis ...
. In 1969 she performed in major concert venues throughout the United States as a part of the "American Youth Performs" concert tour sponsored by
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
. That same year she performed the Hugo Weisgall's opera monodrama ''
The Stronger
''The Stronger'' ( sv, Den starkare) is an 1889 Swedish play by August Strindberg.
The play consists of only one scene. The characters are two women: a "Mrs. X", who speaks, and a "Miss. Y", who is silent, an example of a dramatic monologue.
I ...
'' in a concert organized by the
League of Composers The League of Composers/ International Society for Contemporary Music is a society whose stated mission is "to produce the highest quality performances of new music, to champion American composers in the United States and abroad, and to introduce Am ...
at the
92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the Young Men's Hebrew Association, the ...
.
Later life and career
In 1970 Mathis recorded the role of the High Priestess in
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
's ''
Aida
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...
'' with
Leontyne Price
Mary Violet Leontyne Price (born February 10, 1927) is an American soprano who was the first African Americans, African American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera, where s ...
in the title role,
Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
as Radamès,
Grace Bumbry
Grace Melzia Bumbry (born January 4, 1937), an American opera singer, is considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, as well as a major soprano earlier in her career. She is a member of a pioneering generation of African-Ameri ...
as Amneris, and the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
, conducted by
Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf (born Erich Landauer; February 4, 1912 – September 11, 1993) was an Austrian-born American conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a ...
.
That same year she was the featured soloist in the inaugural concert of the
St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra with conductor
Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer.
Early life and education
Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...
, performing works by Mozart, Puccini, and Gershwin. In November 1970, she was the soprano soloist in the world premiere of
George Rochberg
George Rochberg (July 5, 1918May 29, 2005) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. Long a serial composer, Rochberg abandoned the practice following the death of his teenage son in 1964; he claimed this compositional technique ...
's ''Symphony No. 3'' at
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
.
In 1973 Mathis and
William Warfield
William Caesar Warfield (January 22, 1920 – August 25, 2002) was an American concert bass-baritone singer and actor, known for his appearances in stage productions, Hollywood films, and television programs. A prominent African American artist ...
were the featured performers at the
National Association of Negro Musicians
The National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. is one of the oldest organizations in the United States dedicated to the preservation, encouragement, and advocacy of all genres of the music of African-Americans. NANM had its beginning on May 3, ...
convention in Atlanta with conductor
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 ...
.
Ned Rorem
Ned Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was the leading American of his time writing in the genre. Althou ...
's song cycle ''Women's Voices'' was written for her; a work which Rorem described as the composition "closest to his heart". She debuted the work at
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...
on November 4, 1976. In describing what it was like to hear Mathis perform this cycle, Rorem stated, "It is so to speak, an uncomfortable privilege- a pleasurable torture- to sit in the audience and hear a really good performer exexute one's intimate sounds, hitherto so private, now hopelessly so public."
In 1976 Mathis created the role of Celestina in the world premiere of Roger Ames's opera ''Amistad'' at the
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
. In 1977 she gave a concert of music at
Fisk University
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...
in celebration of the inauguration of
Walter J. Leonard
Walter J. Leonard (October 3, 1929 – December 8, 2015) was an American lawyer and university administrator. As an administrator at Harvard University, he pioneered Affirmative action in the United States, affirmative action in admissions. He wa ...
as the ninth president of the institution. In 1979 she gave a recital at
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...
.
In 1982 Mathis was the soprano soloist in the world premiere of
George Walker George Walker may refer to:
Arts and letters
*George Walker (chess player) (1803–1879), English chess player and writer
*George Walker (composer) (1922–2018), American composer
* George Walker (illustrator) (1781–1856), author of ''The Cos ...
's ''Cantata for Soprano, Tenor, Boys Choir, and Chamber Orchestra'' with tenor
Walter Turnbull
Dr. Walter Turnbull (19 July 1944 in Greenville, Mississippi – 23 March 2007) was an American musician and the founder of the Boys Choir of Harlem. Turnbull graduated from Tougaloo College where he studied classical music and vocal performance ...
, the
Boys Choir of Harlem
The Boys Choir of Harlem (also known as the Harlem Boys Choir) was a choir located in Harlem, New York City, United States. Its final performance was in 2007 and the group folded shortly thereafter due to several controversies, including a lar ...
, the
Orchestra of St. Luke's
The Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) is an American chamber orchestra based in New York City, formed in 1974.
Orchestra of St. Luke’s presents over 70 concerts, programs, and events in a variety of diverse musical genres every season, including an ...
, and conductor Warren George Wilson. She performed that work again in 1986 at
Chicago's Orchestra Hall with conductor
Paul Freeman, the Orchestra of Illinois, and the Boys Choir of Harlem. In February 1983 she performed scenes from
Mark Fax
Mark Oakland Fax (15 June 1911 – 2 January 1974) was an American composer and a professor of music.
Child prodigy
Born on June 15, 1911, in Baltimore, Maryland, Fax was a child prodigy. By age fourteen, Fax was employed as a theater organist p ...
's opera ''Til Victory Is Won'' with
Opera Ebony
Opera Ebony is an African-American opera company that has performed in a wide variety of programs and venues, ranging from Mozart in Harlem to African-American Heritage concerts in Iceland to Gershwin in Moscow to Duke Ellington in the Caribbean. ...
and the
American Symphony Orchestra
The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski whose mission is to demystify orchestral music and make it accessible and affordable for all audiences. Leon Botstein is the orchestra's m ...
at Carnegie Hall. The following December she performed the role Siebel in Gounod's ''
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...
'' with that company at
Aaron Davis Hall
Aaron Davis Hall is a performing arts center in Manhattan, New York City in the neighborhood of Harlem.
Aaron Davis Hall was founded in 1979 and is located on the campus of the City College of New York, between West 133rd and 135th Streets on Con ...
of the
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
. She performed with Opera Ebony again in 1987 as Irina in Weill's ''
Lost in the Stars
''Lost in the Stars'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1948) by Alan Paton. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1949; it was the composer's last work ...
''.
In 1993 Mathis was the soprano soloist in Villa-Lobos' ''
Bachianas Brasileiras
The ''Bachianas Brasileiras'' () (an approximate English translation might be ''Bach-inspired Brazilian pieces'') are a series of nine Suite (music), suites by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, written for various combinations of instrum ...
'' with the Boys Choir of Harlem at the
Richard Rodgers Theatre
The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Herb ...
. In 1994 the Festival Ensemble of the
American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...
dedicated a performance of Haydn's ''
The Creation'' to her.
The April 2009 obituary for her sister Margaret in ''
The Chattanoogan
''The Chattanoogan'' and its website Chattanoogan.com is an online media outlet that concentrates on news from Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is published by John Wilson, previously a staff writer for the ''Chattanooga Free Press
The ''Chattanooga ...
'' mentions that Joyce Mathis preceded her in death.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathis, Joyce
1944 births
Year of death unknown
American operatic sopranos
Central State University alumni
Juilliard School alumni
Musicians from Chattanooga, Tennessee