Paul A. Smith, Tuskegee Tenor, at HMC

Posted by Communications Liaison Ellie Simpson, thanks to Archivist Jon Coss.

On Sunday, February 12, 1933, Paul A. Smith, an African American tenor from the Tuskegee Institute Choir, performed at the Huguenot Church. He sang “Swing Low, Swing Chariot,” “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen,” “Shortening Bread,” and other selections.

Buffalo (N.Y.) newspaper announcement with Othello article and promotional photo.

Paul Smith was born in Colorado, joined the Tuskegee Choir, and studied at the Cleveland Conservatory of Music. He was a gifted operatic tenor, at a time when racism kept people of color from appearing on opera stages. In 1946 he sang the title role in Verdi’s Otello at Carnegie Hall, the first time for an African American in New York City. He went on to a distinguished career as a choral conductor and professor of music and choral studies in California.

The Tuskegee Choir began in 1884 as a quartet. President Booker T. Washington sent them out to “promote interest in the Institute” and to raise funds. The quartet expanded into a school choir to provide music for cultural and religious campus activities. They went on to sing at the White House and perform radio concerts.