born Dec. 2, 1866 Harry Burleigh "Deep River"

"Harry" Burleigh (December 2, 1866 – September 12, 1949), was an African-American classical composer, arranger, and professional singer known for his baritone voice. 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 Water's half-brothers lived. After his mother died, Water's married Lucinda Duncanson. Their first child, Elizabeth Lovey Waters, who would be 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, Sr,. a naval veteran in the Civil War, was the first black juror in Erie County in 1871. After his father's death in 1873, his mother remarried in 1875. Her second husband John Elmendorf was also a veteran of the Union Navy. Burleigh's grandfather who was known for his "exceptionally melodious voice," taught young Burleigh and his brother Reginald traditional spirituals and slave songs. Burleigh 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 as an accountant at the Clark's Business College while he was in high school. His mother occasionally worked as a maid for the daughter of Burleigh Sr.'s employer when she held musicales (musical gatherings) in her home. Burleigh served as a doorman to the performance of Venezuelan pianist Teresa Carreño in their home. 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. At the National Conservatory, relation with Dvořák Burleigh was accepted, with a scholarship, to the prestigious National Conservatory of Music in New York at the age of 26. He obtained with the help of Frances MacDowell, the mother of composer Edward MacDowell) and would eventually play double bass in the Conservatory's orchestra. Though at first the Conservatory denied Burleigh entrance, citing low grades, Mrs. MacDowell (the registrar) insisted that he try his entrance exam again. Days later, he received a scholarship. To help support himself there, Burleigh worked for Mrs. MacDowell as a handyman, cleaning and working on anything she needed. Reputedly, Burleigh, who later became known worldwide for his excellent baritone voice, sang spirituals while cleaning the Conservatory's halls, which drew the attention of the conservatory's director, Czech composer Antonín Dvořák, who asked Burleigh to sing for him. Burleigh said: "I sang our Negro songs for him very often, and before he wrote his own themes, he filled himself with the spirit of the old Spirituals." Dvořák said: "In the negro melodies of America I discover all that is needed for a great and noble school of music." Estimates of Burleigh's original musical output range from 200 to 300 songs. In 1914, he was a founding member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), and received a seat on its board of directors in 1941. Death and legacy Wikipedia Recording information: "Deep River" is an anonymous spiritual of African-American origin. The song was first mentioned in print in 1876, when it was published in the first edition of The Story of the Jubilee Singers: With Their Songs, by J. B. T. Marsh. By 1917, when Henry T. Burleigh completed the last of his several influential arrangements, the song had become very popular in recitals. It has been called "perhaps the best known and best-loved spiritual". It has been sung in several films, including the 1929 film version of Show Boat, and by Chevy Chase in the 1983 blockbuster hit National Lampoon's Vacation. The melody was also adapted into the popular song "Dear Old Southland", in 1921. This performance of HT Burleigh's arrangement of "Deep River" by the Bowdoin College Chamber Choir. Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright to this recording. This video is for historical and educational purposes only.