Tag: Composers)

Matilda Sissieretta (Joyner) Jones

Matilda Sissieretta (Joyner) Jones, an internationally acclaimed black opera singer, was born in Portsmouth, Virginia on January 5, 1868, the daughter of Jeremeah Joyner, a former slave and a minister, and Henrietta Beale Joyner, a homemaker, washerwoman, and singer in her church choir. The couple had three children, but only Sissieretta survived childhood. At the

Al Conte

Al Conte, 1930-2005, was a pianist and arranger, and one-time conductor of the late Guy Lombardo’s Royal Canadians for twenty-three years. This native of Providence was discovered by the famed Lombardo while performing at the Biltmore Hotel in 1954. He became one of the most accomplished and celebrated piano artists of our time. He became