American Conductor
Eva Jessye, born on January 20, 1895, in Coffeyville, Kansas, was a trailblazing African-American musician, composer, and choir director. She received her education at Western University, a historically Black institution in Kansas, and Langston University in Oklahoma. Jessye later studied privately in New York City under the renowned Will Marion Cook.
In 1919, Jessye began her career as a choir director at Morgan State College in Baltimore. She later returned to Oklahoma to teach at an AME Church school before heading back to Baltimore in 1926, where she formed the “Eva Jessye Choir.”
Relocating to New York City, Jessye and her choir became regular performers at the Capitol Theatre’s stage shows and were frequent guests on NBC and WOR radio during the 1920s and 1930s. They also recorded extensively with labels like Brunswick, Columbia, and Cameo during that time. In 1929, Jessye made history in Hollywood as the choral director for MGM’s groundbreaking film Hallelujah!
In 1933, she led her choir in the production of Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein’s opera Four Saints in Three Acts, which debuted on Broadway. Steven Watson noted that the participation of Jessye’s choir in the production marked a significant musical and economic breakthrough for African-American performers. Jessye also championed fair wages for her singers, insisting they be paid for rehearsals and actively challenging discriminatory practices in the industry.
In addition to her work as a conductor, Jessye composed notable choral works that combined spirituals, biblical texts, and orchestral elements, including:
- The Life of Christ in Negro Spirituals (1931)
- Paradise Lost and Regained (1934), a folk oratorio
- The Chronicle of Job (1936)
Jessye was also a devoted advocate for civil rights. She and her choir participated in the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Remaining active well into her 80s, Jessye taught at Pittsburg State University in Kansas and the University of Michigan, inspiring generations of musicians and students.