George Irving Shirley was born on April 18, 1934 and is an American operatic tenor, and was the first African-American tenor to perform a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
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14 Facts About George Shirley
2.
George Shirley was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and raised in Detroit, Michigan.
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3.
George Shirley earned a bachelor's degree in music education from Wayne State University in 1955 and then was drafted into the Army, where he became the first Black member of the United States Army Chorus.
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4.
George Shirley was the first African American hired to teach music in Detroit high schools.
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5.
George Shirley's debut was with a small opera group in Woodstock as Eisenstein in Strauss's Die Fledermaus in 1959, and his European debut in Italy as Rodolfo in Puccini's La boheme.
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6.
George Shirley is the first Black tenor and the second Black male to sing leading roles for the Metropolitan Opera.
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7.
George Shirley has appeared at The Royal Opera, London; the Deutsche Oper Berlin; the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires; the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam; Opera de Monte-Carlo; the New York City Opera; the Scottish Opera; the Lyric Opera of Chicago; the Washington National Opera; the Michigan Opera Theatre; the San Francisco Opera; and the Santa Fe Opera and Glyndebourne Festival summer seasons, as well as with numerous orchestras in the United States and Europe.
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8.
George Shirley currently serves as the Joseph Edgar Maddy Distinguished University Professor of Music, and still maintains a studio at the school.
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10.
George Shirley has three times been a master teacher in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program for Young NATS Teachers, and taught dozens of up-and-coming vocalists for ten years at the Aspen Music Festival and School.
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11.
George Shirley has been awarded honorary degrees by Wilberforce University, Montclair State College, Lake Forest College, and the University of Northern Iowa.
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12.
George Shirley is a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.
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13.
One his highest honors came in 2015 when Mr George Shirley received the National Medal of Arts, bestowed upon him by US President Barack Obama.
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