Music
George Shirley
born 1934 · operatic tenor, music educator
Detroit-raised tenor who became the first African American tenor to sing leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera, and the first Black music teacher in Detroit's high schools.
- Born
Indianapolis, Indiana
age 92- Birth name
- George Irving Shirley
- Detroit years
- 1940s–1957
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Shirley was born in Indianapolis and grew up in Detroit, where he graduated from Northern High School and earned a music education degree at Wayne State University in 1955. He then became the first African American hired to teach music in the city's high schools. Drafted into the Army, he was the first Black member of the U.S. Army Chorus. In 1961 he became the first Black singer to win the Metropolitan Opera's national auditions, and he went on to eleven seasons at the Met, the first Black tenor to sing leading roles there. He also sang at Covent Garden, Glyndebourne, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and at home with Michigan Opera Theatre. His 1967 recording of Così fan tutte won a Grammy. From 1987 he taught at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and in 2015 President Obama awarded him the National Medal of Arts.
Highlights
- First African American tenor to sing leading roles at the Met
- Wayne State University music education graduate, 1955
- First Black music teacher hired in Detroit high schools
- Grammy Award for Così fan tutte (RCA, 1967)
- National Medal of Arts, 2015
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1950s–1955
Wayne State University
Shirley earned his bachelor's degree in music education here in 1955 before teaching in Detroit schools.