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Lee, Sylvia Olden
About the author: Dr. Elizabeth Nash is the author of the biographies Always First Class: The Career of Geraldine Farrar; The Luminous Ones: A History of the Great Actresses; and Pieces of Rainbow.
2001 0-7734-7621-0This is the only autobiography of America’s first internationally renowned African-American classical vocal coach for concert, oratorio, and opera as well as a distinguished arranger and interpretive authority on Negro Spirituals. Mrs. Lee has been a pioneer in the musical field as the first African-American hired onto the staffs of the Metropolitan Opera and the Curtis Institute of Music. She worked with world-acclaimed singers Elisabeth Schumann, Paul Robeson, Dorothy Maynor, Lawrence Winters, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Jessye Norman, and Kathleen Battle. Her appearance on PBS TV with Kathleen Battle and Wynton Marsalis was a fascinating critical interaction between artists and teacher. She has been honored by the United Nations and the National Women’s Hall of Fame. With illustrations.