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Category: Women in Music

Lakecia Benjamin: 2023 Library of Congress Jazz Scholar

Posted by: Claudia Morales

The following is a guest post by 2023 Library of Congress Jazz Scholar and 2024 Grammy Nominee Lakecia Benjamin. In many ways, 2023 was a breakout year for me. I was blessed to be able to perform the music I love, meet new people and experience different countries, languages, and cultures. Most people don’t know …

It Runs in the Family: Heartwarming Photos from the Music Division

Posted by: Heather Darnell

It’s that time of the year when many Americans gather with their families to cut the turkey, gobble up pumpkin pie, and feel grateful for one another. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, let’s look at heartwarming photos our favorite artistic families from the Music Division’s Digital Collections: Sylvia Fine and Danny Kaye   Sylvia Fine …

Brazil de Mis Amores

Posted by: Claudia Morales

If there is a country that many South Americans love, it is Brazil. Its popular music and culture extend across its borders, offering a universal and common language for festiveness, as well as closeness and inner feelings.  Brazilian music has also inspired and influenced American music and culture, which is evident in the National Recording …

Black and white photograph portrait of Mary Cardwell Dawson seated at a table, elbow rested on table and hand posed under her chin.

Mary Cardwell Dawson: Upcoming Lecture at the Library of Congress

Posted by: Cait Miller

On Thursday, January 19th, 2023 at 7pm in the James Madison Building’s Montpelier Room, Dr. Karen Bryan, Dean of the Arts at Pima Community College, is presenting a lecture: “Self-Determination on the Operatic Stage: Mary Cardwell Dawson and African American performance in Washington, DC and New York City.” Music educator, choir director, opera director, and administrator Mary Cardwell Dawson (1894-1962) founded the National Negro Opera Company, the country's first African-American opera company, in 1941. The Library of Congress is home to the National Negro Opera Company Collection, which documents the Company's productions, operations, fundraising efforts, as well as as Dawson's career and impact.

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

You Oughta Be in Pictures, Dana Suesse!

Posted by: Morgen Stevens-Garmon

The following is a guest post from Music Division Archivist Janet McKinney. Explore the life and work of accomplished composer Dana Suesse (1909-1987) through a collection of her papers, newly available in the Music Division! Dana Suesse (born Nadine Dana Suesse, 1909-1987) was a child piano prodigy who began performing in vaudeville shows at the …