Voice alone is not enough. Music requires us to go beyond ourselves, outside of the box.
Grace Bumbry
Grace Bumbry passed away on May 7th, 2023. One of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, she’s recognised internationally for being the first black singer to appear at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany, back in 1961. She performed at the most important opera houses around the world, played many iconic roles, and recorded alongside the biggest names of the time. She left behind a truly inspiring corpus of art!
She also shared her wisdom by teaching, judging international competitions, and working to preserve traditional Negro spirituals through the Grace Bumbry Black Musical Heritage Ensemble. Below, you can watch a clip where she gives advice to singers:
If you want to learn more about Grace Bumbry, her voice, music and legacy, you can visit the Grace Bumbry website. There’s even an online masterclass series available there, called The Bumbry Way.
