Bill Text: TX SR933 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: In memory of Barbara Smith Conrad.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2017-05-27 - Printed in full [SR933 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-SR933-Enrolled.html

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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 933
In Memory
of
Barbara Smith Conrad
WHEREAS, Countless people were inspired by the grace and
courage of famed mezzo-soprano Barbara Smith Conrad, who died on
May 22, 2017, at the age of 79; and
WHEREAS, Raised in the East Texas town of Center Point,
Barbara Louise Smith excelled in University Interscholastic
League singing and debate competitions and was recruited by The
University of Texas at Austin; she enrolled in 1956, the first
year in which African American undergraduates were admitted; a
faculty member urged her to audition for the female lead in the
College of Fine Arts production of the opera Dido and Aeneas;
when she won the role, segregationists protested her being cast
opposite a white male, but she persevered despite threatening calls
and a physical attack; ultimately she was advised by university
administrators that she could not appear in the production; the
controversy drew national attention, and superstar Harry
Belafonte offered to sponsor her studies at any school in the
country; though shocked and hurt by the injustice, she was
committed to the integration of the university and chose to
complete her degree in music; and
WHEREAS, With assistance from Mr. Belafonte and former
first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, she moved to New York after
graduation; because there was already a Barbara Smith in Actor's
Equity, she adopted her father's first name, Conrad, as part of
her stage name; although she was passed over for some roles
because of her race, her career flourished nonetheless, and in
1977, she played another pioneer, Marian Anderson, in the movie
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years; she spent eight
years with the Metropolitan Opera and performed with other noted
companies, among them the Vienna State Opera, the New York City
Opera, and Venezuela's Teatro Nacional; under the direction of
Lorin Maazel, Leonard Bernstein, and other renowned conductors,
she sang with many of the world's greatest orchestras, including
the New York Philharmonic and the London, Boston, Cleveland, and
Detroit symphonies; she also earned critical acclaim with an
album of the spirituals she had loved since her youth, and she was
the cofounder and codirector of the Wagner Theater Program at the
Manhattan School of Music, as well as an eminent private vocal
coach; and
WHEREAS, Barbara Smith Conrad was named a Distinguished
Alumna of The University of Texas in 1985, and the university
established the Barbara Smith Conrad Endowed Presidential
Scholarship in Fine Arts; reconnected to her alma mater, she
performed and taught master classes, and in 2012, she was
appointed as a visiting professor and artist-in-residence at the
Butler School of Music; she spoke at the College of Fine Arts
commencementceremonythatyearandbecameanartisticadviser
and ambassador for the American Spirituals Initiative at the
Dolph Briscoe Center for American History; the center produced a
biographical documentary, When I Rise: The Story of Barbara Smith
Conrad, which premiered at the 2010 South by Southwest Film
Festival and aired nationally on PBS; the film includes her
deeply moving 2009 performance in the Capitol Rotunda on the
occasion of her recognition by the Texas Legislature; her myriad
accolades also include the Texas Medal of Arts Award for Lifetime
Achievement and the History-Making Texan Award; and
WHEREAS, The loss of Barbara Smith Conrad is keenly felt by
The University of Texas community and by all who were privileged
to share in the richness of her life, but her outstanding
contributions as an artist and trailblazer will continue to
resonate in the years to come; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 85th
Legislature, hereby pay tribute to the memory of Barbara Smith
Conrad and extend sincere condolences to her loved ones; and, be
it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for
her family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns this day, it do
so in memory of Barbara Smith Conrad.
Hughes, Watson
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President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on May 27, 2017, by a
rising vote.
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Secretary of the Senate
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Member, Texas Senate
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Member, Texas Senate