2011
Mrs. Barbara Smith Conrad
Audiences around the world have been thrilled to hear Barbara Smith Conrad's mezzo-soprano voice since her 1959 graduation from The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in music. She has performed in Europe and North and South America on stages ranging from the Metropolitan Opera in New York to the Vienna State Opera to Teatro Nacional Venezuela. She has stood on stage with the great orchestras of the world from the New York Philharmonic to the London Symphony, and she has worked with renowned conductors such as Leonard Bernstein and James Levine. From her East Texas home in Center Point, 19-year-old Barbara came to The University of Texas at Austin in 1956, the first year in which African-American undergraduates were admitted. She became a part of civil rights history when, as a student, she was cast as the lead in the opera Dido and Aeneas opposite a young white man, prompting some in the Texas Legislature to object.The story gained national attention, and Harry Belafonte offered to underwrite her studies at any institution she liked. Although she was not allowed to sing the role of Dido she chose to remain at the university from which--26 years later, in 1985--the Texas Ex-Student's Association named her a Distinguished Alumnus. Her accomplishments through the years have included playing Marian Anderson in the ABC movie Eleanor and Franklin, performing at The White House at the invitation of President Ronald Reagan for Lady Bird Johnson's 75th birthday and singing for Pope John Paul II when he visited New York. Currently she is working with The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at The University of Texas at Austin, in its effort to preserve American spirituals.
Audiences around the world have been thrilled to hear Barbara Smith Conrad's mezzo-soprano voice since her 1959 graduation from The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in music. She has performed in Europe and North and South America on stages ranging from the Metropolitan Opera in New York to the Vienna State Opera to Teatro Nacional Venezuela. She has stood on stage with the great orchestras of the world from the New York Philharmonic to the London Symphony, and she has worked with renowned conductors such as Leonard Bernstein and James Levine. From her East Texas home in Center Point, 19-year-old Barbara came to The University of Texas at Austin in 1956, the first year in which African-American undergraduates were admitted. She became a part of civil rights history when, as a student, she was cast as the lead in the opera Dido and Aeneas opposite a young white man, prompting some in the Texas Legislature to object.The story gained national attention, and Harry Belafonte offered to underwrite her studies at any institution she liked. Although she was not allowed to sing the role of Dido she chose to remain at the university from which--26 years later, in 1985--the Texas Ex-Student's Association named her a Distinguished Alumnus. Her accomplishments through the years have included playing Marian Anderson in the ABC movie Eleanor and Franklin, performing at The White House at the invitation of President Ronald Reagan for Lady Bird Johnson's 75th birthday and singing for Pope John Paul II when he visited New York. Currently she is working with The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at The University of Texas at Austin, in its effort to preserve American spirituals.