Burleigh’s Music Experience and Training in Erie

This chapter focuses on Harry T. Burleigh's music experience and training in Erie. Burleigh demonstrated his love for music and his gifts as a singer long before he left Erie to study at the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. Music education at home and in studios opened doors for Burleigh to a variety of performance venues that prepared him for his successful audition at the National Conservatory and the rigorous course of study he would pursue there. Along the way he earned the support of many of Erie's prominent citizens, who would contribute to a fund supporting the early months of his training in New York City. This chapter examines when and where Burleigh heard and sang spirituals and what exposure he had to black musicians who toured the country, including the Fisk Jubilee Singers, the Hampton Juiblee Singers, James Monroe Trotter, and the Hyers Sisters.