amistad research center

Tucked away in the Amistad Research Center’s offsite storage facility is a collection you might not know about. The temperature and humidity controlled environment is home to ARC’s audiovisual collections. Among the reels of film and audio tapes, you’ll find shelf after shelf filled with a series of white boxes. If you were to pull one of these boxes down and open it, you would find a treasure trove of jazz and classical music records. This is the record collection of Harold

Annabelle Bernard (1935-2005) was an internationally renowned opera star. Born in New Orleans, Bernard began singing publicly at a young age in her school, Fisk Elementary and church, the Fourth Baptist Church. As a student at McDonogh #35 in New Orleans, she received her first formal voice training at an opera workshop under the direction of her music teacher, Edwin Hogan. Professor Hogan obtained an audition for her with Sister Elise, the director of Xavier University’s mus

On September 30, 1935, soprano Anne Wiggins Brown stepped onto the stage at the Colonial Theatre in Boston. It was the much anticipated world premiere of George Gershwin’s new “folk opera,” and a big moment for the young vocalist. Far from just a lucky break, this was a major opportunity that Brown had carved out for herself, the culmination of years of work. For the past two years, she had spent many long days completing her classes as a graduate student at the Juilliard Sch

The B-Sharp Music Club was established in 1917 by Camille Nickerson, a musician, composer, and music teacher for the Nickerson music school. According to Ellen C. Thornton, author of "Highlights of 35 years' service by B Sharp Music Club", the original purpose of the club was Camille Nickerson’s desire to “lead her pupils into the wider field of musical thought and to cultivate a finer artistic taste.” In the early stages of the group’s existence, only students of Nickerson’s

Thomas Carey was an American operatic baritone singer and music professor. Born in Bennettsville, South Carolina, his voice carried him around the world from his time in the U.S. military where he enjoyed singing for his fellow soldiers, to his studies in New York City and Europe, to his time spent at the University of Oklahoma as one of the school’s first Black faculty members. His papers, held at the Amistad Research Center, include correspondence, news clippings, photograp

In 1993, the Amistad Research Center took on a project documenting one of New Orleans’ most vibrant and historic neighborhoods. Cheryl Q.W. Cramer and Clarence Jones, Jr. gathered community leaders together, and asked them to talk about the culture of their neighborhood in their own words. The result is the Treme Oral History Project collection. The project was funded by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation with the purpose of documenting the musical heritage of Trem