Harry Burleigh
| Harry Burleigh | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Henry Thacker Burleigh |
| Born |
December 2, 1866 Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | September 12, 1949 (aged 82) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, composer, arranger |
Henry Thacker "Harry" Burleigh (December 2, 1866 – September 12, 1949), a baritone, was an African-American classical composer, arranger, and professional singer. He was the first black composer to be instrumental in the development of a characteristically American music and he helped to make black music available to classically trained artists both by introducing them to the music and by arranging the music in a more classical form.
Henry Thacker Burleigh was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1866 to Henry Thacker and Elizabeth Burleigh. His grandfather, Hamilton Waters, was granted manumission from slavery in Somerset County, Maryland, for himself for $50 and for his mother for $5 in 1832 and a certificate of freedom in 1835. They traveled to Ithaca, New York, where two of Hamilton's half-brothers lived. After his mother died, Hamilton married Lucinda Duncanson. Their first child, Elizabeth Lovey Waters, who would be Harry T. Burleigh's mother, was born in Lansing, New York, in 1838. Later that year the family moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, which would be the family home until the 1920s. Elizabeth, who graduated from Avery College in Pittsburgh in 1855, was denied a teaching position in the Erie Public Schools, but she taught at the Colored School for a number of years. Burleigh's father, Henry Thacker Burleigh, a naval veteran in the Civil War, was the first black juror in Erie County in 1871. After his early death in 1873, Elizabeth married John Elmendorf in 1875, who was also a veteran of the Union Navy. Burleigh's grandfather who was known for his "exceptionally melodious voice," taught young Harry and his brother Reginald traditional spirituals and slave songs. Harry helped support his family by lighting gas streetlamps, selling newspapers and working as a printer's devil, working as a coachman, as a steward on Lake Erie steamboats, and after training at the Clark's Business College while he was in high school, as an accountant. His mother occasionally worked as a maid for the daughter of Henry Thacker Burleigh's employer when she held musicales in her home, and Burleigh served as a doorman when Venezuelan pianist Teresa Carreño performed there. He studied voice with George F. Brierly, and during and after his high school years became known as one of Erie's most accomplished classical singers. He was employed as a soloist by several Erie churches and the Jewish synagogue and appeared as soloist at many community and civic events.
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