Maude Roberts George

This article is about the African-American musician and music critic. For the white American actress, see Maude George.
Maude Roberts George
An African-American woman with light skin and hair parted in the center
Maude Roberts George, from a 1936 newspaper
Born
Maude J. Roberts

September 27, 1888
Jersey City, New Jersey, US
DiedDecember 1, 1943 (aged 55)
Chicago, Illinois, US
Other namesMaud Roberts George
Occupation(s)Singer, arts administrator, music writer
Known forPresident, National Association of Negro Musicians (1933–1935)

Maude Roberts George (September 27, 1888 – December 1, 1943) was an American singer, arts administrator, and music critic. She was president of the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) from 1933 to 1935. She was also president of the Chicago Music Association, and a music critic for The Chicago Defender newspaper.

Early life

Maude J. Roberts was born in Jersey City, New Jersey,[1] the daughter of Joseph Henry Roberts and Alice C. Johnson Roberts. Her mother was born in Virginia and her father was born in North Carolina. She graduated from Walden University in Nashville, Tennessee in 1907,[2] and from the Bryant & Stratton in Chicago in 1908.[3]

Career

Roberts, a soprano concert singer,[4][5][6] taught music at Walden University from 1909 to 1911,[7] and at Lane College from 1911 to 1913. She was a soloist in the 1915 All Colored Composers Concert in Chicago,[8] and with an orchestra in Washington D.C. in 1916.[9] In 1918, she was a soloist in a large choral concert in Chicago; one of the other soloists was George Garner.[10]

In 1927, George directed a musical pageant, "Ethiopia Lifts as She Climbs", at the National Association of Colored Women convention in Chicago.[11]

She directed another musical production, "Festival of Music" featuring George Garner, for the same organization's 1933 convention in Chicago.[12] George supported Black classical musicians and composers in her work,[13] and personally raised the funds for a 1933 concert of works by Florence Beatrice Price performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.[14]

George was president of the National Association of Negro Musicians from 1933 to 1935.[15][16][17] She was succeeded by Howard University music instructor Camille Nickerson.[18] She was also a founder and president of the Chicago Music Association,[19][20] and a music critic for The Chicago Defender newspaper.[21][22] She served on the board of directors of the Cook County League of Women Voters, and was president of the Illinois State Association of Colored Women's Clubs,[23] and served on many arts and political organization boards in Chicago.[3] George also deserves credit for having directly facilitated the 1933 premiere of the First Symphony of Florence B. Price in the 1933 Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago. The minutes of the Chicago Music Association record that George paid $250 (about $5,093 in 2021 dollars) so that the symphony would be performed.[24]

Personal life

Maude Roberts married judge Albert Bailey George in 1918; they had a son, Albert Roberts George (1918–1983).[3][25] Her husband died in 1940.[26] Later in 1940, her son accidentally shot and wounded her in their home.[27] She died in 1943, aged 55 years, in Chicago.[28]

In 1944, the Los Angeles chapter of the NANM held a memorial concert for George and her NANM colleagues Robert Nathaniel Dett and Alice Carter Simmons, who also died in 1943. Naida McCullough was one of the musicians featured.[29] The papers of the Chicago Music Association are held at the Amistad Research Center, Tulane University.[30]

References

  1. ^ "Mrs. Maude Roberts George Passes Away". Jackson Advocate. December 11, 1943. p. 7. Retrieved February 14, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  2. ^ Abbot, Lynn; Seroff, Doug (2013). To Do This, You Must Know How: Music Pedagogy in the Black Gospel Quartet Tradition. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-61703-675-0.
  3. ^ a b c Who's who in Colored America. Who's Who in Colored America Corporation. 1942.
  4. ^ "The Roberts-Tibbs Recital at the Abraham Lincoln Center". The Broad Ax. 1917-03-17. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Miss Maude J. Roberts". The Broad Ax. 1917-03-10. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "The Recital by Miss Maude J. Roberts was a Very Classy and Successful Affair". The Broad Ax. 1915-02-06. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Miss Ollie D. Franklin, of Chicago, Honored". The Nashville Globe. 1909-12-10. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Brown, Rae Linda (2020-06-22). The Heart of a Woman: The Life and Music of Florence B. Price. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-05211-8.
  9. ^ "Along the Color Line". The Crisis. 12: 59. June 1916.
  10. ^ "Untitled item". Phoenix Tribune. August 10, 1918. p. 3. Retrieved February 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "National Session in Chicago, July 21–28". The Indianapolis News. 1933-07-08. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Prattermuch, Polly (1933-08-12). "Chicago, Here We Come". The Birmingham Reporter. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Walker-Hill, Helen (1992). "Black Women Composers in Chicago: Then and Now". Black Music Research Journal. 12 (1): 1–23. doi:10.2307/779279. ISSN 0276-3605. JSTOR 779279.
  14. ^ Ege, Samantha (August 11, 2020). "Florence B. Price: A Biographical Vignette". Aspen Music Festival And School. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  15. ^ Charlton, Rosanne D. (1934-09-01). "Clipped From The Pittsburgh Courier". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Charlton, Rosanne D. (1934-01-06). "Saengerfest Pleases Appreciative Audience; Nat'l Stars on Program". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "'Major Objects of Musicians' Association Great Factors in its Development' says Talented Executive, Maude Roberts George". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1934-04-21. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "H. U. Instructor is New Prexy of Nat'l Musicians". Baltimore Afro American. September 7, 1935. p. 18. Retrieved February 14, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  19. ^ Render, Felicia D. (2020-02-10). "The CMA Experience: Highlighting the Chicago Music Association Collection at Amistad". Amistad Research Center Blog. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  20. ^ "Publicity Chairman". The Detroit Tribune. 1936-08-29. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Bracks, Lean'tin L.; Smith, Jessie Carney (2014-10-16). Black Women of the Harlem Renaissance Era. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 88–89. ISBN 978-0-8108-8543-1.
  22. ^ Beasley, Delilah L. (1927-09-11). "Activities among Negroes". Oakland Tribune. p. 17. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Knupfer, Anne Meis (2006). The Chicago Black Renaissance and Women's Activism. University of Illinois Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-252-07293-2.
  24. ^ See Barbara Wright-Pryor, Program note, “Florence B. Price: The Mississippi River” (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, May 9, 11, and 14, 2013), 38-45. This program note is also available online.
  25. ^ Kinsley, Philip (1924-11-06). "First Colored Judge Looks to Race Advance". Chicago Tribune. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Chicago's First Negro Judge Dies". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1940-03-30. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Judge's Widow Accidentally Shot by Son". Phoenix Index. November 2, 1940. p. 8. Retrieved February 14, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  28. ^ "Mrs. Maude George". Chicago Tribune. 1943-12-03. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Local Musicians Plan Memorial for National Officers". The California Eagle. February 17, 1944. p. 3. Retrieved February 14, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  30. ^ "Chicago Music Association collection, 1936-1972". Amistad Research Center. Retrieved 2021-02-15.