Branksome Hall honour for Portia White considered one of the 20th century's best classical vocalists
May 17, 2022
Back home in Nova Scotia for school break in the early 1940s, Branksome Hall Principal Edith Read was mesmerized by the rich sound of Portia White’s melodious voice.
Hearing the contralto singing for the first time in Halifax sent the educator into a tizzy.
She took White to Toronto and New York to perform for sold-out crowds in 1941 and 1944 respectively. The New York show was significant in that it was the first time that a Canadian performed at Town Hall that was one of the city’s top musical venues.
Later, Read – who purchased Branksome Hall in 1910 after the first principal retired – brought White to her school to teach voice and music after her stage retirement in 1952.
From discovering the hidden gem in Halifax to paving the way for her to become one of the 20th century’s best classical vocalists, the school builder and leader’s impact on White career was profound and incalculable.
“She was just like a fairy godmother and I am not the only one she has helped,” the contralto, who performed for Queen Elizabeth II in Charlottesville, Prince Edward Island in 1964, once recalled.
On April 11, the independent day and boarding school for girls unveiled a plaque, honouring the Canadian music legend as a part of a student-led commemorative ceremony.
“I invite all of us to reflect on this collective historic moment during a time when so many are invested in working together to balance the scales of equity and inclusion throughout society and our organizations,” said Principal Karen Jurjevich. “It is an honour to pay tribute to Portia White and her pioneering work that paved the way for Black Canadian artists. Our students are central to this intentional work as we study our history and celebrate Black excellence within the student curriculum and the broader community.”
Dr. George Elliott Clarke, the great nephew of White, played a pivotal role in the creation of the commemorative plaque that is installed at the southwest corner of Mount Pleasant Rd. and Elm Ave.
He collaborated with students and faculty to engage in reflection pertaining to language and curricula connections.
Dr. George Elliott Clarke (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“In these moments of war, plague, agony, terror, attacks on human liberties and civil rights, the arts are so important,” said Clarke who read an excerpt from ‘Portia White: A Portrait in Words’ that he wrote. “They always are, but at these moments, we need to grab hold of them, seize them and recognize them because the arts remind us of our fundamental humanity and what brings us together.”
Renowned soprano Measha Brueggergosman-Lee, who played Portia in Clarke’s CBC television production, ‘One Heart Broken Into Song’, performed ‘Ride On, King Jesus’.
“It is my great pleasure to contribute to this celebration of a Canadian musical pioneer, for whom wider name recognition is long overdue as we heighten her profile and honour her place, her voice and her legacy as a groundbreaking force on the world’s concert stage,” the 2010 Juno Award winner said.
Sheila White, whose interracial parents -- about whom she is writing a book -- resided in an apartment after their 1947 marriage at 1 Elm Ave., which is a few metres from where the plaque is positioned, joined Clarke and Jurjevich in unveiling the plaque.
Branksome Hall acquired the privately-owned building a few years later.
“Having known Portia personally, I imagine she would want me to tell you students to follow your dreams, trust your talent and intuition, do the persistent hard work, plough through impediments and great things will follow,” said the niece who, four years ago, curated the Portia White Exhibit to mark the 50th anniversary of her passing. “She would say doors would open for you as they did for her and never stop studying. As great as Portia was, she continued to train throughout her life.”
Sheila White (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Branksome Hall English Department Head Jill Strimas represented the school’s faculty at the event.
“Symbols matter and who is celebrated in a space matters,” the school’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (DEI) Working Group member said. “The images we are surrounded by matter. Portia White walked these halls. Black excellence has existed and continues to exist in this space. By surfacing and celebrating Portia White’s story at Branksome Hall, we commit to finding new ways to foster, evolve and recognize Black excellence in our community. Representation matters. Recognition matters and gathering together to celebrate Portia White and her legacy of Black excellence matters.”
Former Branksome Hall Black Student Union co-head Nejat Alhussan, who is pursuing science studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan campus, said White’s legacy is stimulating.
“It is one that future generations of Black Canadian artists will look at with pride and inspiration,” said the UBC Beyond Tomorrow Scholars Program inaugural cohort member. “This is why representation is immensely important. It helps you envision yourself doing and achieving different things because you can see yourself in somebody else and feel seen and heard through their experience. It gives you that extra boost of confidence that you might need and a little bit of joy as well. I feel that way when I see Black women as doctors which is a profession I hope to pursue. By honouring the past and what they have done, we are welcoming the future and what is to come.”
While fortunate to be mentored by Jackie Richardson and the late Salome Bey, award-winning Canadian blues vocalist/actress Shakura S’Aida said there are still times when the pressure and the obstacles of the business can make you doubt that your dreams and ambitions are possible.
“Knowing there was a Black woman from Halifax who broke through racial barriers, reached international acclaim and was known to be one of the best classical singers in the world of the 20th century just drives home that all things are absolutely possible,” noted the 2010 Maple Blues Female Vocalist of the Year Award winner and mother of Branksome Hall 2015 graduate Zoe-Blue Coates.
“Even if it takes a little bit more hard work and a little bit more determination, we just have to remember to always have faith in our abilities. If we ever have doubts, we can look back at all that Ms. White accomplished.”
Branksome Hall students contributed music, dance and poetry to enhance the ceremony. The faculty worked with students and Clarke to reflect on the intersection between art and the struggle for justice and equality.
The celebration comes at a time when there is a surge of interest in the first Black Canadian concert singer to be acclaimed internationally.
Portia White was highlighted in the Reader’s Digest April 2022 issue and is one of six Canadians featured in a book on the Maritime’s Most Famous Female Singers and Bob Mersereau’s East Coast 50 Most Important Artists.
“The timing of this immeasurable honour is right in sync with an enduring legacy that continues to grow,” added Sheila White. “The recognition is very much appreciated.”
Raised in Halifax where she sang in the church choir as a child, White won a scholarship in 1939 to attend the Halifax Conservatory of Music and, two years later, made her debut at age 30 in Toronto.
She died of cancer in February 1968.
In 1999, Canada Post issued a millennium stamp bearing the image of White named ‘A Person of National Historical Significance’ by the Canadian government four years earlier.
She comes from a family that has made noteworthy contributions in Canada.
Her father, William White, led the formation of the Number 2 Construction Battalion – the only all-Black expeditionary force in Canada’s military history – that celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. He became its chaplain, the first Black in the British Empire to hold a commissioned rank and the first Black student to graduate from Acadia University.
While overseas, White – the first Black to receive an honorary doctorate from Acadia University shortly before his death in 1936 at age 62 – wrote a war years’ dairy that became the subject of a film, ‘Honour Before Glory’, which was produced by his great great nephew Anthony Sherwood.
Portia White’s brother, Bill White was a composer and the first Black Canadian to run for federal office in 1949, while another brother, Jack, was a labour union leader and one of the first Black Canadians to run for provincial office in Ontario in 1959. Donald Oliver, a nephew, was a Canadian Senator for 23 years.
