"Barbara Conrad is esteemed for both her impressive operatic career and her inspiring personal story as an emissary of the civil rights movement." From her biography at the Texas Women's Hall of Fame where she was inducted in 2012. A full biography can be read there.
She speaks highly of her home town Center Point in the documentary about her life,
When I Rise.
WHEREAS, A gifted opera singer, Barbara Smith Conrad has been delighting audiences for the past four decades, achieving worldwide acclaim and recognition; and
WHEREAS, Raised in the East Texas community of Center Point, Barbara Smith began exploring music as a child; she and her siblings practiced playing a variety of genres on their family's piano, from sonatas by Mozart to the gospel hymns they heard at their local Baptist church; she went on to attend The University of Texas at Austin, and as a sophomore, she won the lead role in the campus production of Dido and Aeneas; however, in an incident that drew national attention, Ms. Smith was advised by school administrators that she could not perform in the opera; despite an offer from actor Harry Belafonte to underwrite her studies at the institution of her choice, she chose to remain at the university and earned her bachelor's degree in music from UT in 1959; and
WHEREAS, Pursuing a career as a vocalist in the years that followed, she took her father's first name, Conrad, and toured with various opera groups; in 1977, she was cast as Marian Anderson in the ABC television movie, Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years; she also garnered praise for her work in the Houston Grand Opera production of Carmen, and she became a performer with the prestigious Metropolitan Opera from 1982 to 1989; this exceptional mezzo-soprano continued to play leading roles with the Vienna State Opera, New York City Opera, Teatro Nacional de Venezuela, Pittsburgh Opera, and others throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and South America; moreover, she has been accompanied by such celebrated orchestras as the New York Philharmonic and the symphonies of London, Boston, Cleveland, and Detroit; and
WHEREAS, In 1984, Ms. Conrad returned to her alma mater to lend her voice for the premiere of Al-Inkishafi, and the following year, she was named a Distinguished Alumnus by the Ex-Students' Association of The University of Texas; she has also been honored with invitations to sing at the White House for Lady Bird Johnson's 75th birthday and to perform for Pope John Paul II during his visit to New York City in 1995; and
WHEREAS, Today, among her other pursuits, Ms. Conrad spends time at her vocal studio in Manhattan and works closely with the Manhattan School of Music as the cofounder and codirector of its Wagner Theater Program; she also regularly participates in the Distinguished Alumnus Awards at UT, where she often sings "The Eyes of Texas"; fittingly, the university has created an endowed presidential scholarship in fine arts in Ms. Conrad's name, and in 2005, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at UT announced the Endowment for the Study of the American Spiritual, for which Ms. Conrad serves as the national ambassador; she released a recording of spirituals in 1995 with the choir of the Convent Avenue Baptist Church and remains dedicated to preserving this art form; and
WHEREAS, With talent and perseverance, Barbara Smith Conrad has become a world-renowned mezzo-soprano, and in realizing her dreams, she is an inspiration to countless individuals; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas hereby commend Barbara Smith Conrad on her accomplished musical career and her role in the movement toward civil rights in the United States of America, and extend to her sincere best wishes for continued success and happiness; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Ms. Conrad as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate.
