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Harry Thacker Burleigh
Info
12/02/1866
Erie, Pennsylvania
09/12/1949
New York City, New York
USA
Romantic
Erie, Pennsylvania
09/12/1949
New York City, New York
USA
Romantic
Biography
Henry Thacker ("Harry") Burleigh (December 2, 1866 – September 12, 1949) was an American classical composer, arranger, and professional singer known for his baritone voice. The first black composer who was instrumental in developing characteristically American music, Burleigh made black music available to classically trained artists both by introducing them to spirituals and by arranging spirituals in a more classical form. Burleigh also introduced Antonín Dvořák to Black American music, which influenced some of Dvořák's most famous compositions and led him to say that Black music would be the basis of an American classical music.
