Tribute to Sylvia Olden Lee Slated for Carnegie Hall

On Thursday, June 29, 2017, on the occasion of Sylvia Olden Lee's 100th birthday, the Foundation for the Revival of Classical Culture (www.fftrocc.org) will celebrate her life and achievements with African American spirituals, Verdi arias and choral music at Carnegie Hall.

This event is also organized in collaboration with the Harlem Opera Theater. Musicians on the program include: Simon Estes, Gregory Hopkins, Rosa D'Imperio, Elvira Green, Everett Suttle, and the NYC Schiller Institute chorus.

Sylvia Olden Lee was the first African-American employed by the Metropolitan Opera, and the person most directly responsible for "breaking the color line" there. She convinced Rudolf Bing to hire the great Marian Anderson to sing the role of Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdi's Un Ballo De Maschera on January 7, 1955. MS. Anderson's premiere was followed by the hiring of baritone Robert McFerrin 20 days later.

The Foundation wants to further Sylvia's life-long endeavor - S.Y.L.V.I.A. (Saving Young Lyric Voices in Advance) - a program named after Sylvia's mother, soprano, Sylvia Olden, which entailed a comprehensive approach to the teaching of voice-training in the school system through high school age, and the maintenance and development of the vocal capabilities of professional singers. Ms. Lee, who died in 2004, was involved in the last decade and a half of her life in a non-stop crusade to re-popularize Classical musical performance and education among all youth. Ironically, because she is thought of as being an important pedagogue for aspiring African American classical artists, the significance of Ms. Lee's proposal and work for all youth in the United States have gone unrecognized.

S.Y.L.V.I.A.: Saving Young Lyric Voices In Advance is actually indispensable to education, and to the resurrection-the "revival"-of the practice of non-violence. It should be the inspiration for resurgence in the performance of the classical musical repertoire, including the African American spiritual, by "ordinary people," and in educational institutions throughout the United States.

For more information and group rates, call 718-709-8722. Tickets are available through www.carnegiehall.org or the Carnegie Hall box office.