Eva Jessye was an American conductor who was the first black woman to receive international distinction as a professional choral conductor. She is notable as a choral conductor during the Harlem Renaissance. She created her own choral group which featured widely in performance. Her professional influence extended for decades through her teaching as well. Her accomplishments in this field were historic for any woman. She collaborated in productions of groundbreaking works, directing her choir and working with Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein on Four Saints in Three Acts (1933), and serving as musical director with George Gershwin on his innovative opera Porgy and Bess (1935).

In New York, Jessye worked with creative multi-racial teams in groundbreaking productions that experimented with form, music and stories. In 1933, she directed her choir in Virgil Thomson‘s and Gertrude Stein‘s opera, Four Saints in Three Acts, produced as a Broadway theatre work.

An active supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, Jessye and her choir participated in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Active into her 80s, she taught at Pittsburg State University (Pittsburg, Kansas), and the University of Michigan. She donated her extensive collection of books, scores, artwork, and other materials to the University of Michigan, which became the basis of the university’s African American Music Collection. Dr. Jessye was a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.

Source: Wikipedia