HARRY T. BURLEIGH

Composer and arranger

Harry Thacker Burleigh was born in Erie in 1866. His grandfather, Hamilton Waters, had been a slave, who had been blinded by a savage beating. Afterwards he had come north, and passed along old songs by singing them to his grandson Harry. His mother, Elizabeth, had a college education and was fluent in French and Greek, but was only able to get a job as a maid for Mrs. Elizabeth Russell.

Burleigh sold newspapers and lit gas street lamps in Erie, though singing in various churches whenever he could. He graduated from high school in 1887, but it wasn't until 1892 that he went to New York to audition for the National Conservatory of Music. He managed to secure a scholarship for tuition, but it took a job as at St. George's Episcopal Church in 1894 to allow Burleigh to actually support himself. Czech composer Antonin Dvorak was the director, and he became Burleigh's biggest influence as a composer. He graduated in 1896, and married poet Louise Alston in 1898. 1899 brought their son, Alston, and the publishing of his first three songs.

Burleigh became nationally and internationally known for his Negroe spirituals, many of which are still very well known. Some of these are: "Deep River", "Steal Away to Jesus", "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child", and "Nobody Knows". He taught, lectured, and performed at many colleges, and performed for such people as the King of England and President Theodore Roosevelt.

Burleigh was a favorite of Marian Anderson, who often ended her concerts with a selection of spirituals which included his arrangements. Illness forced his retirement in 1946, and he entered a nursing home. He died on September 12, 1949, of heart failure.