Joyce Mathis | |
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Born | 1944 Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S. |
Died | March 1994 |
Education | |
Occupation | Operatic soprano |
Awards | Marian Anderson Award Young Concert Artists |
Joyce Mathis (1944[1] – before April 2009[2]) was an American soprano who was a concert artist, recitalist, and opera singer from the 1960s into the early 1990s. She is considered a part of the first generation of black classical singers to achieve success in the United States; breaking down racial barriers within the field of classical music.[3] She won several notable singing competitions, including the Marian Anderson Award in 1967 and the Young Concert Artists in 1968.[1] In 1970 she recorded the role of the High Priestess in Verdi's Aida alongside Leontyne Price and Plácido Domingo. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ned Rorem wrote his song cycle Women's Voices for her in 1975. In 1976 she created the role of Celestina in Roger Ames's opera Amistad at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She appeared frequently in performances with Opera Ebony and the Boys Choir of Harlem in addition to touring widely as a recitalist and concert soprano.