Portia May White (June 24, 1911 – February 13, 1968) was a Canadian contralto, known for becoming the first Black Canadian concert singer to achieve international fame. Growing up as part of her father's church choir in Halifax, Nova Scotia, White competed in local singing competitions as a teenager and later trained at the Halifax Conservatory of Music. In 1941 and 1944, she made her national and international debuts as a singer, receiving critical acclaim for her performances of both classical European music and African-American spirituals. White later completed tours throughout Europe, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
When vocal difficulties and cancer eventually contributed to her retirement in 1952, White settled in Toronto and subsequently taught young Canadian musicians such as Lorne Greene, Dinah Christie, Don Francks, Robert Goulet and Anne Marie Moss. One of White's final major public appearances was a special command performance for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1964.
White was declared a person of national historic significance by the Government of Canada. Her original supporters in Nova Scotia went on to establish the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, awarding annual arts scholarships to both emerging and established local artists, and the government of Nova Scotia continues to award an annual Portia White Prize. In 2007, White was posthumously awarded a lifetime achievement award by the East Coast Music Association.
^Fanfair, Ron (February 7, 2018). "50 years after her death, Portia White exhibit brings family together". Ronfanfair. Ron Fanfair. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
Portia May White (June 24, 1911 – February 13, 1968) was a Canadian contralto, known for becoming the first Black Canadian concert singer to achieve international...
Look up Portia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Portia may refer to: Portia (spider), a genus of jumping spiders Anaea troglodyta or Portia, a brush-footed...
The PortiaWhite Prize is the largest prize of its type awarded by the Province of Nova Scotia and is named for PortiaWhite, a Nova Scotian artist who...
(formerly Tupper Ware Remix Party) Jody Upshaw Dinuk Wijeratne Wintersleep PortiaWhite Wordburglar Halifax Pop Explosion List of musical groups from Halifax...
His plays include one about international singer PortiaWhite, who was born in Nova Scotia: PortiaWhite - First You Dream. Woolaver was born in Digby County...
Portia labiata is a jumping spider (family Salticidae) found in Sri Lanka, India, southern China, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, Singapore, Java, Sumatra and...
White, migrated independently in 1900 from Baltimore, Maryland. Oliver is the nephew of Canadian opera singer PortiaWhite, politician Bill White and...
Sparks Nelson Symonds, jazz guitarist Maxine Tynes, poet and educator PortiaWhite, operatic contralto Cory Bowles, Actor, Director Marjorie Bailey, sprinter...
a strait-laced employment lawyer, Ethan's wife Haley Lu Richardson as Portia, Tanya's rudderless young assistant whom she brings on her vacation Will...
great-nephew of the late Canadian opera singer PortiaWhite, politician Bill White and labour union leader Jack White. A seventh-generation African Canadian,...
White), was a musician and music teacher, his mother was an amateur singer, and his first cousin once-removed was Canadian opera singer, PortiaWhite...
Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Industry Development Award, and the PortiaWhite Youth Award. The African Nova Scotia Music Association presents a Lifetime...
Ernesto Sabato, Argentinian physicist and academic (d. 2011) 1911 – PortiaWhite, Canadian opera singer (d. 1968) 1912 – Brian Johnston, English sportscaster...
(?–1744) Lucia Elizabeth Vestris (1797–1856) Helen Watts (1927–2009) PortiaWhite (1911–1968) Marta Wittkowska (1882–1977) List of contraltos in non-classical...
(1932-1934) (b. 1889) 1968 – Mae Marsh, American actress (b. 1895) 1968 – PortiaWhite, Canadian opera singer (b. 1911) 1973 – Marinus Jan Granpré Molière,...
Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, and in private collections. She won the PortiaWhite Prize in 2013. Swim was born in Lockeport, Nova Scotia, Canada and grew...
and performed as a folk singer in her teens, taking voice lessons from PortiaWhite. Christie reached Grade 13 at NTCI but did not graduate. In 1965, she...
Portia Faces Life is an American soap opera first broadcast as a radio series from 1940 to 1953, and then on television for a single season in the mid-1950s...
Canyon, and Drake Jensen, jazz vocalist Holly Cole, classical performers PortiaWhite and Barbara Hannigan, multi Juno Award nominated rapper Classified, and...
international opera houses. Most notable from the 1940s is contralto singer PortiaWhite (1911–1968). She achieved international fame because of her voice and...
41) Bill White – composer, choral group leader Nancy White – singer-songwriter, musical satirist PortiaWhite – operatic contralto Rick White – singer-songwriter...
Mischief was voted Atlantic Canada's greatest book. MacLeod won the PortiaWhite Prize in 2001. The prize, awarded by the Province of Nova Scotia, honours...
hair salon called Vi's Studio of Beauty Culture. Her clients included PortiaWhite and Gwen Jenkins, later the first black nurse in Nova Scotia. In addition...
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