Canadian contralto Portia White born June 24, 1911
Canadian contralto Portia White was born June 24, 1911 in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada/
“Nobody ever told me to sing. I’m the daughter of a Baptist minister – I was born singing.”
Portia White was the first Black Canadian concert singer to win international acclaim. She was considered one of the best classical singers of the 20th century. Her voice was described by one critic as “a gift from heaven.” She was often compared to the celebrated African American contralto Marian Anderson. The Nova Scotia Talent Trust was established in 1944 specifically to enable White to concentrate on her professional career. She was named a “person of national historic significance” by the Government of Canada in 1995.
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/portia-white-emc
Extraordinary Entertainers – Portia White
From Canada Post’s The Millennium Collection, the first set.
Issued in 1999
Designer: Fraser Ross
With deep thanks to Historic Nova Scotia for this lovely tribute to Prortia:
In the era in which Portia grew up, few would have imagined that the sixth child of Izie and Rev. William White would end up as a classically trained contralto on concert stages – before adoring audiences, including one with a head of state. Portia sang around the house as a child in Truro and later in the choir of the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church (now New Horizons Baptist Church) in Halifax when her father became its minister. There was never any doubt about her talent. The question was, how could she with her family’s modest means obtain the training she would need to sing the classical repertoire? Portia dreamed there might be a way, yet her teaching job in Africville did not pay enough for the lessons she would need.
In the 1930s, others stepped in to make her dream a reality. The Halifax Ladies Musical Club paid for Portia’s classes at the Conservatory of Music, where renowned Italian baritone Ernesto Vinci mentored her. Vinci later said she was the most talented pupil he worked with in North America. Next, the provincial government created a Nova Scotia Talent Trust – which still exists – specifically to assist Portia with her touring costs. By the 1940s, Portia was touring and singing across Canada and internationally. One Toronto critic wrote that hers was “a natural voice, a gift from heaven.” In the 1950s she settled in Toronto and took on students, including Maureen Forrester and Robert Goulet. In 1964, Portia came out of retirement to sing for Queen Elizabeth II at the opening of Charlottetown’s Confederation Centre for the Arts. The Portia White Prize, established in 1998, recognizes cultural and artistic excellence in Nova Scotia.
https://historicnovascotia.ca/items/show/72
Historica Canada produced an excellent short piece on Portia White.
Rounding out the day of extraordinary Canadian women: