Wikipedia

Alyce Fraser Denny

This article is about the Guianese singer born in 1896; for the Australian comedian of similar name, see Alice Fraser.

Alyce Fraser Denny Eaton (28 June 1896 – 17 October 1988) was a singer and voice teacher, known as "the Songbird of British Guiana" (now Guyana).

Alyce Fraser Denny
Alyce Fraser Denny, from a 1927 publication
Born17 October 1896
Georgetown, British Guiana
Died28 June 1988 (age 91)
New York, U.S.
Other namesAlice Fraser, Alice Fraser Robinson, Alyce Fraser Eaton, Alyce Eaton
Occupation(s)Singer, voice teacher
Known for"The Songbird of British Guiana"
RelativesHamilton Green (cousin)

Early life and education

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Fraser was born in Georgetown, British Guiana the daughter of Archibald Fraser.[1] She moved to New York City when she was 18 years old,[2] and studied voice there with Caska Bonds.[3][4]

Career

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Fraser toured as a soprano in the Caribbean, North and South America, and Great Britain.[5][6] She sang European arias, folk songs, and Black spirituals.[3][7] "She sang with intelligence and musical sense and seemed to give much pleasure to an enthusiastic audience," commented The Musical Leader about her 1927 performance at New York City's Town Hall venue.[8]

Fraser worked as a church soloist in New York City,[3] and conducted a choir for the United Negro Improvement Association.[9] In 1928, she sang at a screening of Uncle Tom's Cabin in London.[10] In 1930 she pleased an audience in Aberdare by singing a Welsh lullaby, "All Through the Night".[11] In 1932 and 1933 she performed with pianist and singer Amy Gibbons in England and Wales.[12][13][14]

Later in life, Fraser taught voice and piano classes in New York City.[2][9]

Personal life and legacy

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Fraser married three times. She was married to Arthur F. Robinson, railroad cook from Barbados, in 1918. She married a Georgetown official, James Sydney Denny, in 1933,[2] in a ceremony described as "the most impressive in the history of British Guiana", requiring a significant police presence to manage the crowds of onlookers.[15] She was a widow by 1949, and remarried in 1953 to Detroit businessman William Edward Eaton.[16] In 1986, her cousin Hamilton Green, the prime minister of Guyana, visited her in a nursing home in Hyde Park.[17] She died in 1988, at age 91, in New York. In 1992, a bust of Alyce Fraser was dedicated in the National Cultural Centre in Guyana.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Fraser-Eaton Wedding Set". The Daily Item. 1953-01-29. p. 17. Retrieved 2024-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c "Teacher Gave Up Career for Love". The New York Age. 1952-10-18. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c "Alyce Fraser". Musical Observer. 26 (10): 43. October 1927.
  4. ^ "Alyce Fraser in New York Recital". Musical Courier. 95 (8): 19. August 25, 1927 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ Floyd, Samuel A. (1993). Black music in the Harlem Renaissance : a collection of essays. The Archive of Contemporary Music. Knoxville : University of Tennessee Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-87049-800-8.
  6. ^ "Visit of Miss Alyce Fraser". Cynon Valley Leader. 1929-11-30. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Alyce Fraser Appears". Musical America. 46 (26): 5. October 15, 1927 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ "Alyce Fraser Sings". The Musical Leader. 53: 8. October 20, 1927.
  9. ^ a b c Cambridge, Vibert C. (2015-05-21). Musical Life in Guyana: History and Politics of Controlling Creativity. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-62674-644-2.
  10. ^ "Shepherds Bush Pavilion, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'". Acton Gazette. 1928-12-28. p. 8. Retrieved 2024-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Song Recital at Aberdare; Return Visit of Miss Alyce Fraser". Cynon Valley Leader. 1930-10-04. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Miss Alyce Fraser at Ashbourne". Ashbourne News Telegraph. 1932-02-12. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Birthday Celebrations; Coloured Soprano Sings at Caerphilly". The Merthyr Express, Aberdare and East Glamorgan Herald, Tredegar and West Monmouth Times. 1932-06-04. p. 16. Retrieved 2024-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Hull Church Concerts; Enthusiastic Greetings for Miss Alyce Fraser". Hull Daily Mail. 1933-03-07. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Guiana Singer is Wed; Mme. Alyce Fraser Becomes Bride of James Denny". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  16. ^ "Spring? It Isn't a Must After Age Jogs Memory". The New York Age. 1953-01-24. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Norton, Kathleen (1986-04-11). "Guyana prime minister meets cousin in Hyde Park". Poughkeepsie Journal. pp. 1C. Retrieved 2024-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
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