Portia White

Portia May White (June 24, 1911 – February 13, 1968) was a Canadian contralto, known for becoming the first Black Canadian concert singer to achieve international fame. Growing up as part of her father's church choir in Halifax, Nova Scotia, White competed in local singing competitions as a teenager and later trained at the Halifax Conservatory of Music. In 1941 and 1944, she made her national and international debuts as a singer, receiving critical acclaim for her performances of both classical European music and African-American spirituals. White later completed tours throughout Europe, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

When vocal difficulties and cancer eventually contributed to her retirement in 1952, White settled in Toronto and subsequently taught young Canadian musicians such as Lorne Greene, Dinah Christie, Don Francks, Robert Goulet and Anne Marie Moss. One of White's final major public appearances was a special command performance for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1964.

White was declared a person of national historic significance by the Government of Canada. Her original supporters in Nova Scotia went on to establish the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, awarding annual arts scholarships to both emerging and established local artists, and the government of Nova Scotia continues to award an annual Portia White Prize. In 2007, White was posthumously awarded a lifetime achievement award by the East Coast Music Association.

Early life and family

Portia May White was born June 24, 1911, in

Many other members of Portia White's family went on to achieve distinction in Canadian political and cultural life, including her brothers Jack, a noted Canadian labour union leader; Bill, the first Canadian of African heritage to run for political office in Canada;^[2] and Lorne, a regular performer for television show Singalong Jubilee.^[3] White also became aunt to Senator Donald Oliver^[4] and political commentator Sheila White.^[2]

Portia White began her musical career at the age of six as a choir member with the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church,^[5] where her mother was also the musical director.^[6] As White grew older, she became the choir director and assisted with church fundraising by singing on her father's weekly radio show.^[7] In an interview later in life, White explained that her love of music and performing had developed early:

Nobody ever told me to sing, I was born singing. I think that if nobody had ever talked to me, I wouldn't be able to communicate in any other way but by singing. I was always bowing in my dreams and singing before people and parading across the stage as a very little girl.^[8]: 269

As a teenager, White entered a local singing competition with her sister June, the pair performing an aria from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. They won first prize. Although White wanted to pursue a singing career, she could not afford professional training at the time.^[6]

White entered

White sang both classical European music and African-American

White went on to sing at many more concerts across the United States. The province of Nova Scotia and the city of Halifax provided new financial support for the rising star, purchasing a white fox cape for White to wear at performances.[10] In 1945, she signed a contract with artist agency Columbia Concerts Incorporated.^[2] A three-month tour of Central and South America and the Caribbean followed in 1946,^[6] and she sang in France and Switzerland in 1948. White was the first Black Canadian concert singer to achieve international fame.^[2][13]

Vocal problems, an exhausting itinerary,^[9] and an eventual diagnosis of breast cancer^[6] later contributed to White's early retirement from public singing in 1952, and she settled in Toronto, where she studied with sopranos Gina Cigna and Irene Jessner at the Royal Conservatory of Music. White became a vocal instructor herself and taught both at Branksome Hall and privately.^[2] She went on to teach some of Canada's up-and-coming musical talent,^[9] and her students included singers Lorne Greene, Dinah Christie, Don Francks, Robert Goulet,^[5] Anne Marie Moss^[14] and Judith Lander.^[8] White appeared in Halifax for a few rare performances during the 50s; although she announced her intention to resume a full-time singing career, her return to the concert circuit never fully materialized.^[9]

In 1964, she sang in a

White died in Toronto on February 13, 1968, aged 56.[2]

Legacy and honours

In 1944, White's supporters in Nova Scotia formed the Nova Scotia Talent Trust to provide her with financial assistance for her singing career. The Trust went on to establish annual scholarships for other Nova Scotian artists,^[15] and continues to award the Portia White Award to artists who show "exceptional commitment and potential in voice."^[16] The Nova Scotia provincial government also awards a Portia White Prize for "cultural and artistic excellence,"^[17] and the 1998 inaugural Portia White Prize was awarded to Nova Scotian poet George Elliott Clarke, White's great nephew.^[2]

White has been declared a person of national historic significance by the

White has been the subject of Lance Woolaver's play Portia White: First You Dream (also known simply as Portia),^[22][23] Sylvia Hamilton's documentary Portia White: Think on Me,^[2] and George Elliott Clarke's book Portia White.^[24] A new opera entitled Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White by HAUI and Sean Mayes is set to be produced by the Canadian Opera Company in June 2024.^[25]

A portrait of White by Hedley Rainnie is on permanent display at Government House, Nova Scotia in honour of her contribution to the arts.^[26]

Discography

• Think on Me (1968, White House Records) WH-6901^[2]
• Great Voices of Canada, Vol 5. White et al. Analekta AN 2 7806^[2]
• First You Dream (1999. C. White) W001-2^[2]
• Library and Archives Canada also holds audio recordings of White's live performances.^[2]

See also

• Black Nova Scotians
• Music of Canada

References