Georgia Ann Laster
Georgia Ann Laster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | November 18, 1927 |
| Died | September 4, 1961 (aged 33) |
| Instrument | Vocals |
Georgia Ann Laster (November 18, 1927 – September 4, 1961) was an American soprano.
Early life and education
[edit | edit source]Laster was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. She had five brothers.[1] She sang in church choirs as a young girl. She attended Dunbar High School[2] and joined her high school's a cappella choir, often appearing as a soloist.[1] She graduated from Junior College of Little Rock. In 1945, Laster began attending the University of Southern California (USC). In November, she began voice lessons at USC and was a member of the choir there, which was directed by Charles Hirt.[2] Laster graduated from the USC's school of music in 1948.[3]
Career
[edit | edit source]Laster was a protégé of Marian Anderson.[4]
She won an Atwater Kent audition in 1948 and her performance in a related concert received a positive review.[5] After winning a UCLA Young Artist Award,[6] she participated in the final concert in the 1950–1951 season of UCLA's concert series.[7]
She received a scholarship to the Music Academy of the West.[8]
A review of her performance at Philharmonic Auditorium reads, "Miss Laster disclosed a voice of pure quality, adequately powerful in the higher registers if not in the medium and lower ones".[9]
In 1953 she became one of the laureates of the International Naumburg Competition. In 1955–1956 she toured in Europe. The 1956 Laster concerts, in which the music of another African-American musician, William Grant Still, received approving criticism.[10]
Laster was accompanied by Franz Rupp in a recital at Town Hall in New York on March 6, 1955. She sang works by German, French, and English composers; she also sang spirituals. The review notes her "high voice of agreeable texture. She also has sensitivity and musicianship [...] What she lacks is a secure vocal technique." The review also noted that, despite her youth, she was "singing with the voice of an artist beyond her prime".[11]
She was awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 1956.[12] In 1953, she appeared in concert at the Hollywood Bowl.[13][14] She also performed at Redlands Bowl and Pasadena Playhouse.[15] She received the Marian Anderson Award in 1951, selected from 203 applicants.[16]
Laster was a music teacher at Brooklyn College in New York City[13] and taught in city schools in Los Angeles.[17]
Death and legacy
[edit | edit source]She died in a car accident with her mother in Lodi, California.[18][19] Four other people were injured in the accident, including one other person in the car with the Lasters.[13]
In honor of Laster, the Los Angeles branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians is named.[20]
Laster was one of the artists discussed by Anthony Philpott at the Century of Story and Song exhibit at Times Square in May 2020.[21]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b "Georgia Laster: Little Rock girl with 'Beautiful Voice." The Daily Gleaner. May 15, 1959. p. 7. Via NewspaperArchive.
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- ^ A Q. "Voice One of Quality." Los Angeles Times. 5 March 1951: A11.
- ^ Judith Anne Still, Michael J. Dabrishus, Carolyn L. Quin. William Grant Still: A Bio-bibliography. Archived November 3, 2020, at the Wayback Machine — Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996. — p. 178.
- ^ H.C.S. "Georgia Laster Sings: Soprano Is Heard in Works by Purcell, French Composers." The New York Times. 7 March 1955: 22.
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Georgia Ann Laster at African Diaspora of Sacred Music & Musicians