This weekend marks the 83rd anniversary of Marian Anderson’s historic performance at the Lincoln Memorial, on Easter 1939. During the summer of 1966, the groundbreaking American contralto performed with the Grant Park Orchestra under the direction of her nephew, conductor James DePreist. Studs Terkel visited them shortly before their concert and captured their conversation on his portable tape recorder. The hour begins with a recording of Marian Anderson’s 1955 Metropolitan Opera debut.
Marian Anderson & James DePreist (c. 1966)
Marian Anderson Sings at the Lincoln Memorial, 1939 (Photo by Addison Scurlock. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Archives Center)
