The Harlem YWCA in New York, USA, was founded in 1905, moving to its own premises in 1921. It played an important role in developing training and careers for young black women in the early and mid twentieth century, as well as providing safe and respectable accommodation.
110-569: The foundation and development of the Harlem Young Women's Christian Association was led by Cecelia Cabaniss Saunders , Emma Ransom , and Virginia Scott, among others. Scott was the treasurer for thirty-one years and an active member of Mount Olivet Baptist church in New York for many years. Ransom was the president of the management committee. Saunders was the executive director from 1914 until 1947. The founders were well connected to
220-504: A benefit concert to help raise money for her tuition. The Chisholms also remained supportive of Price, and gifted the bulk of the money needed for Juilliard. Price entered the studio of Florence Page Kimball in the fall of 1948. While studying at Juilliard that year, she lived in the Harlem YWCA , which was safe and affordable accommodation open to black women. In her second year, she heard Ljuba Welitsch sing Salome from
330-730: A concert performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the May Festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, her first public performance of what became her signature role. Her first performance at a major opera house was at the San Francisco Opera on September 20, 1957, as Madame Lidoine in the U.S. premiere of Dialogues of the Carmelites . A few weeks later, she appeared as Aida on stage, substituting at
440-406: A 99-year lease on the site, and it was only when it expired that the college moved to East Lansing, Michigan . Youngstown State University traces its roots to the establishment of a law school by the local YMCA in 1908. The Nashville School of Law was YMCA Night Law School until November 1986, having offered law classes since 1911 and the degree of Juris Doctor since January 1927. YMCA pioneered
550-454: A Chicago-area YMCA administrator, worked at YMCA while also becoming the BSA's first director. In 1916, K. T. Paul became the first Indian national general secretary of India. Paul had started rural development programs for self-reliance of marginal farmers, through co-operatives and credit societies. These programmes became very popular. He also coined the term "rural reconstruction", and many of
660-541: A Juilliard production of Verdi's Falstaff . Virgil Thomson heard a performance and cast her in a revival of his all-black opera, Four Saints in Three Acts . After two weeks on Broadway , the production of Saints went to Paris , France. Meanwhile, Price had been signed to sing Bess in a new production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess at the Ziegfeld Theatre , directed by Robert Breen. Fresh off
770-647: A centre for community activism as well as religious outreach. It had its own motto The More Abundant Life . The development of the Harlem YWCA reflected the tensions and change in American society between white and black citizens. Indeed, the YWCA movement was formally segregated on the basis of skin color until 1945, and the leaders of Harlem YWCA led demands for independence of YWCAs for black women from supervision by YWCAs for white women. This resulted in changes in
880-579: A concert career for Columbia Artists. In 1953, she sang a recital at the Library of Congress , with composer Samuel Barber at the piano. The program included the world premiere of Barber's Hermit Songs . In November 1954, Price made her formal recital debut at New York's Town Hall . The door to opera opened through the young medium of television and the NBC Opera Theatre , with music director Peter Herman Adler . In January 1955, Price sang
990-513: A concert suite of Cleopatra's arias, which was premiered by Price in Washington, D.C. , in 1968, and recorded for RCA. Price later said the experience soured her feelings toward the Met. She began to appear there less often. In the late 1960s, Price cut back her operatic performances and devoted more of her schedule to recitals and concerts. She said she was tired, stressed by racial tensions in
1100-899: A curriculum to begin teaching cave diving . In 1973, the Sixth World Council in Kampala , Uganda, became the first World Council in Africa, hosted by Uganda YMCA . It reaffirmed the Paris Basis and adopted a declaration of principles, known as the Kampala Principles. It include the principles of justice, creativity and honesty. It stated what had become obvious: that a global viewpoint was more necessary. It also recognized that YMCA and its national member organizations would have to take political stands, particularly in international challenges and crises. In 1976, YMCA of
1210-673: A decade, she renewed her partnership with Karajan in a performance of Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem with the Berlin Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. This was followed by a nostalgic revival of their famous 1962 Il trovatore production in Vienna and Salzburg, followed by a recording for EMI, all led by Karajan. That fall, Price sang her her first Strauss heroine: Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos The premiere in San Francisco
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#17327754569311320-542: A delegation who hold a number of votes, which are dependent on the financial turnover of that National Council. The World Council is "responsible for setting the policies and direction of the World YMCA, electing its Officers and Executive Committee, evaluating the work of the last four years, and deliberating on priorities for the next quadrennium". The most recent World Council took place in 2022 in Aarhus , Denmark, and
1430-425: A formal state qualification including practical placements in hospitals from around 1939. The Harlem YWCA also opened an employment bureau from the mid-1930s and members of the organisation's committee began to promote better employment conditions, particularly for domestic staff. These employment-related activities were led by the then membership secretary Anna Arnold Hedgeman (who resigned in 1933). She also expanded
1540-425: A healthy body, mind, and spirit. From its inception, YMCA grew rapidly, ultimately becoming a worldwide movement founded on the principles of muscular Christianity . Local YMCAs deliver projects and services focused on youth development through a wide variety of youth activities, including providing athletic facilities, holding classes for a wide variety of skills, promoting Christianity, and humanitarian work. YMCA
1650-1101: A little more, at $ 3,000 a performance. Price remained active in Vienna, Milan, and Salzburg. She performed a famous Il trovatore in Salzburg un 1962, and Tosca, Donna Anna and Aida, in Vienna, most often with Karajan. She was also the soprano soloist in many of Karajan's performances of Verdi's Requiem . After the first Met season, Price added seven roles to her repertoire over the next five years: Elvira in Verdi's Ernani , Pamina, Fiordiligi in Mozart's Così fan tutte , Tatyana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin , Amelia in Un ballo in maschera , Cleopatra in Barber's Antony and Cleopatra , and Leonora in La forza del destino . The most significant and certainly most troubled milestone in her career
1760-635: A memorial concert at Carnegie Hall , in 2001 for victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks . Among her many honors and awards are the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, in addition to her 13 Grammy Awards . Mary Violet Leontyne Price was born in Laurel, Mississippi , on February 10, 1927. Her father, James Anthony, worked as a carpenter and her mother, Katherine Baker Price, was a midwife. A deeply religious family, both of her parents were children of Methodist ministers; her mother sang as
1870-528: A musical masterpiece, while recognizing its outdated stereotypes. Many East Berliners crossed to West Berlin to see the show, to the degree that the State Department ordered that East German currency be accepted at face value instead of the current exchange rate. When Porgy and Bess returned to the States in 1953, Warfield was unable to adjust a busy recital and concert schedule and was dropped from
1980-420: A musicians' strike threatened and Bing, frustrated with the negotiations, canceled the season. Under pressure from the government, Bing and the musicians agreed to allow Secretary of Labor Arthur Goldberg to mediate a settlement. For her first night, Price received enthusiastic reviews but during the second she confronted her first vocal crisis. In the middle of the second act, she slowly lost her voice and by
2090-586: A noted bass-baritone concert singer. The ceremony took place at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem , with many in the cast in attendance. Although many black newspapers criticized the export of Porgy and Bess as presenting a false and demeaning picture of black life, the Breen production showed off a new generation of highly trained black singers, and affirmed that Americans could revive
2200-578: A role that similar to that of a CEO. At each stage of the affiliation process, there are usually membership fees paid by local YMCAs to the central organization. Ever since the first World Conference in August 1855, in Paris , the World YMCA has convened a World Conference, later renamed the World Council, every three to four years and is YMCA's highest decision making forum. Every National Council sends
2310-416: A soloist in the church choir and her father played a tuba in the church band. Her brother and only sibling, George, was born two years later. She showed a natural affinity for music at an early age and began piano lessons at the age of three and a half with the local pianist Hattie McInnis. Initially, she played on a toy piano, but by the time she was five, her parents traded in the family phonograph as
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#17327754569312420-591: A successful Town Hall recital debut in November 1954, Price began touring the U.S. and Canada in recitals on the Columbia Artists roster, at first with the composer John La Montaine as her accompanist and then with David Garvey , who remained her pianistic partner until his death. In 1956, she and Garvey toured India and then, the next year, Australia, giving concerts and recitals for the U.S. State Department. On May 3, 1957, she performed Verdi's Aida in
2530-480: A triumphant joint debut in Il trovatore . The performance ended with an ovation that was certainly one of the longest in Met history. A Met official said it lasted at least 35 minutes. Price said friends had timed it at 42 minutes, and that was the figure she used in her publicity. In his review, New York Times critic Harold C. Schonberg wrote that Price's "voice, warm and luscious, has enough volume to fill
2640-474: A true prima donna. Adler also warned against arriving in the racially stereotypical role of Aida, an Ethiopian slave. In his autobiography, Warfield quotes Adler as saying: "Leontyne is to be a great artist. When she makes her debut at the Met, she must do it as a lady, not a slave." Eventually, her first Met contract booked her for five roles in 1961, Leonora in Il trovatore , Aida, Donna Anna, Liu, and Butterfly. On January 27, 1961, Price and Franco Corelli made
2750-450: A variety of recreational, cultural, leadership, academic, and social skills for development. Multiple colleges and universities have historically had connections to YMCA. Springfield College , of Springfield, Massachusetts, was founded in 1885 as an international training school for YMCA Professionals, while one of the two schools that eventually became Concordia University — Sir George Williams College —started from night courses offered at
2860-577: Is a non-governmental federation , with each independent local YMCA affiliated with its national organization. The national organizations, in turn, are part of both a geographically regional area alliance and the World Alliance of YMCA. YMCA programs vary between nations and regions, but are all based on the principles espoused in the Paris Basis . The YMCA is a parachurch organization based on Protestant values. Similar organizations include
2970-472: Is derived from programme fees, membership dues, community chests, foundation grants, charitable contributions, sustaining memberships, corporate sponsors and other funding models used in the charitable sector. YMCA globally operates on a federation model with each independent local YMCA affiliated with its national organization, known as a National Council. The national organizations, in turn, are affiliated to both an Area Alliance, including Europe, Asia Pacific,
3080-824: The Camp David Peace Accords . In 1978, Carter had invited her to sing a recital from the East Room of the White House that was nationally televised and won an Emmy. In 1982, she sang " Battle Hymn of the Republic " before a Joint Meeting of Congress on the 100th anniversary of the birth of President Franklin D. Roosevelt . On July 4, 1983, she sang with the National Philharmonic on the Capitol Mall, and in fall 1986, Price sang
3190-738: The Great Exhibition of 1851, the first in a series of World's Fairs which was held in Hyde Park, London . Later that year there were YMCAs in Australia , Belgium , Canada , France , Germany , Hong Kong , the Netherlands , Switzerland , and the United States . The idea of creating a truly global movement with an international headquarters was led by Henry Dunant , Secretary of YMCA Geneva, who would later go on to found
3300-635: The International Committee of the Red Cross and win the first Nobel Peace Prize . Dunant successfully convinced YMCA Paris to organise the first YMCA World Conference. The Conference took place in August 1855, bringing together 99 young delegates from nine countries, held before the Exposition Universelle (1855) . They discussed joining in a federation to enhance cooperation amongst individual YMCA societies. This marked
3410-712: The Juilliard School . YMCA YMCA , sometimes regionally called the Y , is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva , Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches worldwide. It was founded in London on 6 June 1844 by George Williams as the Young Men's Christian Association . The organization aims to put Christian values into practice by developing
Harlem YWCA - Misplaced Pages Continue
3520-727: The Montreal YMCA. Northeastern University began out of a YMCA in Boston , and Franklin University began as YMCA School of Commerce. San Francisco's Golden Gate University traces its roots to the founding of YMCA Night School on 1 November 1881. Detroit College of Law , now the Michigan State University College of Law , was founded with a strong connection to the Detroit , Michigan YMCA. It had
3630-499: The Ritz Theater on Broadway. Price was thus the first African American to sing with and for the Met, if not at the Met as a member of the company. That distinction went to Marian Anderson , who sang Ulrica in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera on January 7, 1955. Price and Warfield were in the audience. While awaiting a chance to sing in opera, Price sang duo concerts with Warfield, and, after leaving Porgy and Bess , began
3740-701: The Salzburg Festival in Beethoven's Missa solemnis , conducted by Karajan; recorded a second full opera, Il trovatore , for RCA in Rome; then returned to Verona to sing Il trovatore with tenor Franco Corelli . Rudolf Bing was at one of the performances, and went backstage to invite Price and Corelli to make their Met debuts in the 1960–61 season. That fall, Price made her Chicago Lyric Opera debut as Liu in Puccini's Turandot with Birgit Nilsson in
3850-656: The YWCA , and the Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA). In popular culture, the YMCA is the subject of the 1978 song " Y.M.C.A. " by the Village People . The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was founded on 6 June 1844, by George Williams and eleven friends. Williams was a London draper who was typical of the young men drawn to the cities by the Industrial Revolution . They were concerned about
3960-670: The seconda role of Elvira in Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri .) In Salzburg that summer, Price sang her first Donna Anna in Don Giovanni , again with Karajan. She then returned to Vienna to appear first as Cio-Cio-San in Puccini's Madama Butterfly . Bing had made overtures to Price before, and in 1958 had invited her to sing two Aidas. She turned him down on the advice of Adler and others, who argued that she should wait until she had more repertoire under her belt and could arrive as
4070-580: The "middle period" operas of Verdi remain her greatest triumph; Aida , the Leonoras of Il trovatore and La forza del destino , as well as Amelia in Un ballo in maschera . Her performances in these works, as well as Mozart and Puccini's operas, survive in her many recordings . After her retirement from opera, Price continued to appear in recitals and orchestral concerts until 1997. After that, she would come out of retirement to sing at special events, including
4180-542: The 1978 Village People song " Y.M.C.A. "). In 1940, there were about 100,000 rooms at YMCAs, more than any hotel chain. By 2006, YMCAs with residences had become relatively rare in the US, but many still remain. YMCAs offer classes in the visual arts , including ceramics, drawing, painting, and photography, the performing arts , including music, dance, and poetry, and literature , including reading, storytelling, and public readings. These programs are not offered at each YMCA but
4290-589: The 20th century, YMCA had "become interdenominational and more concerned with promoting morality and good citizenship than a distinctive interpretation of Christianity." Prior to the beginning of the American Civil War , YMCA provided nursing, shelter, and other support during wartime in the United States. In 1878, the World YMCA offices were established in Geneva , Switzerland by Dunant. Later, in 1900, North American YMCAs, in collaboration with
4400-476: The 21st World Council is scheduled for July 2026 in Toronto . YMCAs around the world offer various types of accommodation. In some places, this takes the form of budget accommodation available to the public such as youth hostels, or hotels, which, in turn, generate income for other charitable activities. In England and Wales , YMCAs offer supported accommodation for vulnerable and homeless young people. Until
4510-601: The Emma Ransom House could accommodate over 200 women and included a roof garden with lighting. There was some tension between the rules and well-meaning supervision provided for residents and their wish for an independent life. Later on, an annex was built providing more classrooms and a trade school was developed. Over 3000 students were enrolled by 1943. By 1947 the Harlem YWCA employed over a hundred people. The Harlem YWCA provided training in domestic work in areas such as cooking and sewing, as well as how to balance
Harlem YWCA - Misplaced Pages Continue
4620-504: The Met and the San Francisco Opera, her favorite house, for short runs of three to five performances, sometimes a year or more apart. In October 1973, she returned to the Met to sing a triumphant Madama Butterfly for the first time in a decade. In 1976, she was at the heart of a long-promised new production of Aida at the Met, with James McCracken as Radames and Marilyn Horne as Amneris, directed by John Dexter . At
4730-580: The Met: baritone Robert McFerrin (1955), soprano Gloria Davy (1956), and soprano Mattiwilda Dobbs (1958). However, none of them lasted as long or achieved such eminence. Price was a box-office hit (her performances in her first two seasons were almost all sold out), and the first to be asked to sing a season opening night, a true sign of prima donna status. The opening in September 1961, in Puccini's La fanciulla del West , almost didn't happen. That summer,
4840-586: The Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Mexico, the United States, and Canada, and the World YMCA. The World YMCA is the highest affiliation body. Each local, national and regional YMCA is independent of each other, but local, regional and international cooperation, partnerships and collaborations are part of the organizations work. Each National Council is led by a National General Secretary,
4950-498: The Rockefellers, set a high standard for the YWCA. The building had a large cafeteria in the basement. The ground and first floor had an information desk and offices as well as reception, meeting and teaching rooms. On the higher floors there were a gymnasium with showers and a locker room as well as a laundry. There was a swimming pool on the fourth floor. An adjacent building provided the accommodation rooms for residents. By 1926
5060-408: The San Francisco Opera as Poulenc 's Dialogues des Carmélites and Aida , brought her to international attention. She went on to sing at many of the world's major opera houses with Aida , before her successful debut at the Metropolitan Opera (Met) in 1961, as Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore . Continuing her career there, she starred in a multitude of operas for 20 years, securing her place among
5170-470: The South, because of her race. In March 1955, Price was taken by her agent to audition at Carnegie Hall for the Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan , who was touring with the Berlin Philharmonic . Impressed with her singing of "Pace, pace, mio Dio" from Verdi's La forza del destino , Karajan reportedly leapt to the stage to accompany Price himself. Declaring her "an artist of the future", he asked to direct her future European operatic career. After
5280-458: The South, singing Fanciulla in Dallas . Two years later, she sang Donna Anna in Atlanta , a first in the Deep South. Both performances occurred without incident. Price was soon earning the Met's top fee. By 1964, she was paid was $ 2,750 per performance, on a par with Joan Sutherland , Maria Callas , and Renata Tebaldi , according to the Met archives. Birgit Nilsson , who was older and unique in singing both Italian and Wagnerian roles, earned
5390-418: The State Capitol for a day." Leontyne Price Mary Violet Leontyne Price ( / l i ˈ ɒ n t iː n , ˈ l iː ə n t iː n / lee- ON -teen, LEE -ən-teen ; born February 10, 1927) is an American spinto soprano who was the first African-American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera . She regularly appeared at
5500-451: The Swedish tenor Jussi Björling . Then, returning to Vienna, she sang Aida and her first onstage Pamina. She gave a BBC television recital of American songs with Gerald Moore , and a concert of operatic scenes by Richard Strauss for BBC Radio , conducted by Adler. In Vienna, she made her first full opera recording for RCA, singing Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni , conducted by Erich Leinsdorf . That summer, Price made her debut at
5610-432: The U.S., and frustrated with the number and quality of the new productions she'd been given at the Met. Her recitals and concerts (generally programs of arias with orchestra) were highly successful, and, for the next two decades, she was a mainstay in the major orchestral and concert series in the major American cities and universities. She realized she needed to maintain some visibility in opera as well, and she returned to
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#17327754569315720-402: The USA appointed Violet King Henry to executive director to its Organizational Development Group, making her the first woman named to a senior management position with the American national YMCA. In 1985, the World Council of YMCAs passed a resolution against apartheid , and anti-apartheid campaigns were formed under the leadership of Lee Soo-Min ( Korea ), the first Asian secretary general of
5830-451: The USA rebranded its name to the popular nickname "The Y" and revised the iconic red and black logo to create five colored versions. Today, YMCAs are open to all, regardless of ability, age, culture, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic background. During the 19th World Council meeting in 2018 in Chiang Mai, Carlos Sanvee from Togo became the first African and current Secretary General of World YMCA. During
5940-534: The United Kingdom's largest non-theatrical distribution companies. In 1947 the World YMCA gained special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council . In 1955 the first black President of the World YMCA, Charles Dunbar Sherman from Liberia, was elected. At 37 years, he was also the youngest president in World YMCA history. In 1959 YMCA of the USA developed the first nationally organized scuba diving course and certified their first skin and scuba diving instructors . By 1974, YMCA had set up
6050-606: The World YMCA, set up centres to work with emigrants in European ports, as millions of people were leaving for the US. In 1880, in Norway, YMCA became the first national organization to adopt a strict policy of equal gender representation in committees and national boards. In 1885, Camp Baldhead (later known as Camp Dudley), the first residential camp in the United States and North America, was established by George A. Sanford and Sumner F. Dudley, both of whom worked for YMCA. The camp, originally located near Orange Lake in New Jersey , moved to Lake Wawayanda in Sussex County, New Jersey ,
6160-443: The World YMCA. In 1998, the 14th World Council of YMCAs in Germany adopted "Challenge 21", intended to place more focus on global challenges, such as gender equality , sustainable development , war and peace, fair distribution, and the challenges of globalization , racism, and HIV/AIDS. In 2002, the World Council in Oaxtepec , Morelos , in Mexico, called for a peaceful solution to the Middle East crisis. On 12 July 2010, YMCA of
6270-402: The YMCA created and led the Committee of Nîmes, also known as the Camps Committee, a group that gathered leaders from over twenty humanitarian organizations to coordinate advocacy for people in the internment camps, including helping children leave these camps to live in children's colonies or eventually escape to freedom. YMCA Motion Picture Bureau, renamed Association Films in 1946, was one of
6380-403: The advice of the university president and after frequent singing in a glee club she changed her major to voice in her third year. She also participated in master classes, including one in 1948 with the renowned bass Paul Robeson at Antioch College . Robeson was impressed by Price's voice, and—knowing she was aiming to enroll at Juilliard —worked with the Central State administrators to host
6490-450: The beginning of the World Alliance of YMCAs. The conference adopted the Paris Basis , a common mission for all present and future national YMCAs. Its motto was taken from the Bible, " That they all may be one " ( John 17 :21). Other ecumenical bodies, such as the World YWCA , the World Council of Churches , and the World Student Christian Federation have reflected elements of the Paris Basis in their founding mission statements. In 1865,
6600-639: The camps to attend Springfield College and providing youth activities in the camps. In addition, YMCA was one of seven organizations that helped to found the USO . In Europe , YMCA helped refugees, particularly displaced Jews. Sometimes YMCA participated in escape operations. Mostly, however, its role was limited to providing relief packages to refugees. It was also involved in war work with displaced persons and refugees. It set up War Prisoners Aid to support prisoners of war by providing sports equipment, musical instruments, art materials, radios, gramophones , eating utensils, and other items. Donald A. Lowrie of
6710-405: The cast, while Price sang Bess for another year, on Broadway and a second US tour. Warfield said the episode put a strain on their young marriage. The couple was legally separated in 1967, and divorced in 1973. They had no children. Price and Warfield both dreamt of careers in opera, but racism limited opportunities for black singers. The New York City Center Opera under Laszlo Halasz had hired
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#17327754569316820-407: The company's spring tour for the first time in Tosca , Butterfly , and Fanciulla . Recognizing that Price would have to be included on the tour, which would create problems for presenters in the segregated South, Bing declared that the Met would no longer perform to segregated houses, starting in 1962. Price gave the first performance by an African American to sing a leading role with the company in
6930-525: The concept of night school , providing educational opportunities for people with full-time employment. Many YMCAs offer ESL programs, alternative high school , day care , and summer camp programs. In India , YMCA University of Science and Technology of Faridabad was founded in 1969. It offers various programs related to science and engineering. During the 1880s, the Cleveland YMCA began to offer day and evening courses to students who did not otherwise have access to higher education. The YMCA program
7040-434: The down payment on an upright piano . Meanwhile, at the age of eight, she had begun visiting the home of Alexander and Elizabeth Chisholm, a wealthy white family for whom Leontyne's aunt worked as a laundress. Leontyne and George became good friends with the Chisholms' older daughters, Jean and Peggy, and Mrs. Chisholm encouraged Leontyne's piano-playing and singing, often inviting her to sing at house parties. Aged nine, she
7150-404: The drapery, embroidery , and other trades." Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury served as YMCA's first president from 1851 until his death in 1885. By 1845, YMCA started a popular series of lectures that from 1848 were held at Exeter Hall , London, and started being published the following year, with the series running until 1865. YMCA was associated with industrialisation and
7260-409: The end of the scene she was shouting the words. The standby, soprano Dorothy Kirsten , was called and finished the performance. The newspapers said that Price was suffering a viral infection, but stress and the unsuitable weight of the role of Minnie played their parts. After several weeks off, Price repeated Puccini's La fanciulla del West and then, after a Butterfly in December, which ended with
7370-415: The establishment in 1889 of Big Cove YMCA Camp in Merigomish, Nova Scotia . YMCAs offer child care, including supervised space for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children to stay and play while parents enjoy a workout. YMCA staff members are trained to ensure the safety and well-being of the children in their care so that parents can confidently pursue their fitness goals or take part in
7480-505: The first World Conference: the need to respect the local autonomy of YMCA societies, and the purpose of YMCA: to unite all young, male Christians for the extension and expansion of the Kingdom of God. The former idea is expressed in the preamble: The delegates of various Young Men's Christian Associations of Europe and America, assembled in Conference at Paris, the 22 August 1855 feeling that they are one in principle and in operation, recommend to their respective Societies to recognize with them
7590-402: The first black singers in leading roles in the mid-1940s, starting with Camilla Williams and Todd Duncan . In 1949, the new general manager of the Metropolitan Opera , Rudolf Bing , had said publicly he would cast Negro singers "for the right part". The Metropolitan Opera recognized Price's potential by inviting her to sing " Summertime " at a "Met Jamboree" fund-raiser on April 6, 1953, at
7700-423: The first week in the new house, placing a burden on tech crews who were still learning how to run the new equipment and lighting. The chaotic final rehearsals, along with scenes of Price's beautiful singing, were captured by cinema verite director Robert Drew in a documentary on The Bell Telephone Hour , The New Met: Countdown to Curtain . Antony and Cleopatra was never revived at the house. Barber prepared
7810-445: The first woman to be well documented as a self-made millionaire in the USA, had been a member of the Harlem YWCA's management committee until her death, and her success through her beauty products company provided an example of a very successful woman. There was also a programme of cultural courses, with the content changing depending on their popularity and the availability of lecturers. It later expanded into nursing studies, that offered
7920-607: The following year, and then to the shore of Lake Champlain near Westport, New York , in 1891. YMCA was an early influence on scouting that began in the United Kingdom in 1907. The year after its inception by Robert Baden-Powell , the first scout troops met in the Nottingham and Birkenhead YMCA buildings. The YMCA would also influence the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and German Scouting . Edgar M. Robinson ,
8030-538: The fourth World Conference of YMCAs, held in Germany, affirmed the importance of developing the whole individual in spirit, mind, and body. The concept of physical work through sports, a new concept for the time, was also recognized as part of this " muscular Christianity ". YMCA has cooperated with camping organizations, including Boy Scouts of America , Camp Fire , and Girl Scouts of the USA . Two themes resonated during
8140-417: The house with ease, and she has a good technique to back up the voice itself. She even took the trills as written, and nothing in the part as Verdi wrote it gave her the least bit of trouble. She moves well and is a competent actress. But no soprano makes a career of acting. Voice is what counts, and voice is what Miss Price has." Reviewers were less enthusiastic about Corelli, who was infuriated and told Bing
8250-425: The lack of healthy activities for young men in major cities; the options available were usually taverns and brothels . Williams' idea grew out of meetings he held for prayer and Bible-reading among his fellow workers in a business in the city of London , and on 6 June 1844, he held the first meeting that led to the founding of YMCA with the purpose of "the improving of the spiritual condition of young men engaged in
8360-714: The last minute for Antonietta Stella , who had suffered an appendicitis. Price's European opera debut came in May 1958, again as Aida, at the Vienna State Opera with Karajan conducting. This was followed by performances of the role at the Royal Opera House in London (replacing Anita Cerquetti ), and at the Arena di Verona . The next fall, Price appeared as Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore in San Francisco, with
8470-409: The late 1950s, YMCAs in the United States were built with hotel-like rooms called residences or dormitories. These rooms were built with the young men in mind coming from rural America and many foreign-born young men arriving to the new cities. The rooms became a significant part of American culture , known as an inexpensive and safe place for a visitor to stay in an unfamiliar city (as, for example, in
8580-699: The leading performers of the century. One of these works was Barber's Antony and Cleopatra , which she starred in for its world premiere. She made her farewell opera performance at the Met in 1985 in Aida . A lirico spinto (Italian for "pushed lyric") soprano, her musical interpretations were subtle but often overshadowed her acting. She was noted for her roles in operas by Mozart and Puccini, as well as playing Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare and Poppea in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea . However,
8690-578: The military's morale and comfort operations worldwide. Irving Berlin wrote Yip Yip Yaphank , a revue that included a song entitled "I Can Always Find a Little Sunshine in the YMCA". Frances Gulick was a YMCA worker stationed in France during World War I who received a United States Army citation for valour and courage on the field. During World War II , YMCA was involved in supporting millions of POWs and in supporting Japanese Americans in internment camps . This help included helping young men leave
8800-468: The movement of young people to cities to work. YMCA "combined preaching in the streets and the distribution of religious tracts with a social ministry. Philanthropists saw them as places for wholesome recreation that would preserve youth from the temptations of alcohol, gambling, and prostitution and that would promote good citizenship." The YMCA spread outside the United Kingdom in part thanks to
8910-471: The need to work with a successful home life. These skills made the women more competitive in the job market. In 1923, to expand the range of training, Emma Shields Penn was employed to lead the trade school. She had been employed previously at the U. S. Department of Labor. She expanded training into business skills such as shorthand , dictation bookkeeping and business English, as well as a beauty school and more domestic service skills. Madame C. J. Walker ,
9020-506: The networks of both religious and practical organisations that had developed in Harlem, especially as the number of black citizens increased. They aimed to combine the social traditions of clubs and religion to benefit the community. The objective of the Harlem YWCA was to provide Christian family surroundings that supported the material and spiritual needs of young women so that they could advance their careers and place in society. It thus became
9130-491: The next day he would never sing with Price again. The outburst was soon forgotten, and Price and Corelli sang together often, at the Met, in Vienna, in Salzburg, and once, for Karajan's version of Bizet 's Carmen , in the recording studio. In recognition of her extraordinary first season at the Met, Time magazine put her on its cover, and ran a profile under the headline, "A voice like a banner flying". After Anderson, three black artists had preceded Price in leading roles at
9240-507: The official organisational rules in 1946 to give self-governance to the YWCAs for black women. The organisation initially rented premises and mainly provided bible-study and a Sunday evening religious service. However, the founders responded to the demand and obvious need for secular support as well. In 1921 it re-opened in a purpose built building at 137th Street and Lenox Avenue after previously occupying rented premises. This building, funded by
9350-665: The ones who have same to offer these programs give a benefit to their communities to give children a safe place to go to enjoy such activities. YMCA camping began in 1885 when Camp Baldhead (later known as Camp Dudley ) was established by G.A. Sanford and Sumner F. Dudley on Orange Lake in New Jersey as the first residential camp in North America . The camp later moved to Lake Champlain near Westport, New York . Camping also had early origins in YMCA movement in Canada with
9460-501: The performance, Virgil Thomson engaged her in Four Saints in Three Acts , prior to embarking on her debut tour; she also starred (alongside her husband William Warfield ) in a successful revival of Gershwin 's Porgy and Bess . Numerous concert performances followed, including a recital at the Library of Congress with composer Samuel Barber on piano. Her 1955 televised performance of Puccini 's Tosca , plus appearances at
9570-581: The plane from Paris, she sang the opening performance of Porgy and Bess at the State Fair of Texas on June 9, 1952, receiving rave reviews. The production played in Pittsburgh , Chicago and Washington, D.C., and then toured Vienna , Berlin , London , and Paris , under the auspices of the U.S. State Department . On the eve of the European tour, Price married William Warfield , her Porgy and
9680-612: The principles he developed were later incorporated into the Indian's government nationwide community development programs. In 1923, Y. C. James Yen , of YMCA China, devised the "thousand character system", based on pilot projects in education. The method also became very popular, and in 1923, it led to the founding of the Chinese National Association of the Mass Education Movement. In 1878, YMCA
9790-511: The same World Council meeting, Patricia Pelton from Canada emerged as the first female President of World YMCA. YMCA's 175th anniversary in 2019 was celebrated with a global gathering of the organisation's young leaders at ExCeL London from 4 to 7 August, with 3,200 people from 100 countries. The event celebrated youth leadership, and elevated the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals . It
9900-481: The same time, she was cautious – some said too cautious – in choosing new roles, conscious of her need to keep her reputation as a leading prima donna intact. After 1970, she performed only three new roles: Giorgetta in Puccini's Il tabarro in San Francisco; Puccini's Manon Lescaut , in San Francisco and New York; and the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos , also in San Francisco and New York. Of these, only Ariadne
10010-459: The series of career and inspirational lectures, and was able to book women such as Mary Church Terrell , Charlotte Hawkins Brown and Maggie L. Walker . The accommodation was a fairly cheap, safe and respectable place for young black women to stay when temporarily in New York. This was particularly important in the earlier years of the Harlem YWCA. Among people known to have lived there was Leontyne Price , an opera singer, in 1948 while attending
10120-415: The singer in tears, cleared her schedule and took a respite in Rome. The official word was that she had never fully recovered from the earlier virus. However, Price later said she was suffering from nervous exhaustion, having performed a schedule of history making intensity, without a vacation for several years. In April, now rested and in fine voice, she returned to the Met for her first Toscas and then joined
10230-611: The standing-room section at the Met and became fascinated by opera. In fall 1950, Price joined Juilliard's Opera Workshop and sang small roles in workshop performances of Mozart's Magic Flute (First Lady) and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi (Aunt Nella). In the summer of 1951, she enrolled in the opera program at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood and sang Ariadne in Strauss 's Ariadne auf Naxos (second cast). In early 1952, Price performed as Mistress Ford in
10340-584: The title role in Puccini's Tosca , the first appearance by an African American in a leading role in televised opera. (Another black soprano, Veronica Tyler , had sung in the NBC Opera chorus for several seasons.) Price went on to star in three other NBC Opera broadcasts, as Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute in 1956, as Madame Lidoine in Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites the following years, and as Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni in 1960. Tosca
10450-613: The title role, and sang Massenet's Thaïs . Her Liu was well received while her Thaïs was considered stiff and mannered. On May 21, 1960, she sang for the first time at La Scala in Milan , again as Aida. The reception was tumultuous, and a Milanese critic wrote that "our great Verdi would have found her the ideal Aida". She was the first African American to sing a prima donna role in Italy's greatest opera house. (The African-American soprano Mattiwilda Dobbs had sung there two years earlier, in
10560-656: The unity existing among their Associations, and while preserving a complete independence as to their particular organization and modes of action, to form a Confederation of secession on the following fundamental principle, such principle to be regarded as the basis of admission of other Societies in future. YMCA was influential during the 1870s and the 1930s, during which times it most successfully promoted "evangelical Christianity in weekday and Sunday services, while promoting good sportsmanship in athletic contests in gyms (where basketball and volleyball were invented) and swimming pools." Later in this period, and continuing on through
10670-504: The various YMCA programs. Family programs include family nights, parent-child classes, and different events put on by the YMCA. YMCA's parent/child programs, conducted under YMCA's Y-Guides program, provides structured opportunities for fellowship, camping, and community-building activities, including craft-making and community service, for several generations of parents and children from kindergarten through eighth grade. YMCA after-school programs are geared towards providing students with
10780-597: The world's major opera houses, including the Royal Opera House , San Francisco Opera , Lyric Opera of Chicago , and La Scala ; at La Scala, she was also the first African American to sing a leading role. She was particularly renowned for her performances of the title role in Giuseppe Verdi 's Aida . Born in Laurel, Mississippi , Price attended Central State University and then the Juilliard School (graduating cum laude ), where she had her operatic debut as Mistress Ford in Verdi's Falstaff . Having heard
10890-472: Was a cheerleader and salutatorian . She earned extra money by singing for funerals and civic functions. Mississippi was highly segregated at the time, and subject to Jim Crow laws . As such, as a black woman, the only evident musical career path was as a teacher. She began her study in music education at Central State University , a historically black school in Wilberforce, Ohio . However, on
11000-723: Was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1918), Oswald Chambers and Robert and Olave Baden-Powell . Within the first month the YMCA Women's Auxiliary was formed, and Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein would go on to become a notable member and chairman of its organising committee. During World War I, YMCA raised and spent over $ 155 million on welfare efforts for American soldiers. It deployed over 25,000 staff in military units and bases from Siberia to Egypt to France. They took over
11110-682: Was attended by guests including Jayathma Wickramanayake on behalf of Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth and María Fernanda Espinosa , the President of the United Nations General Assembly . A federated model of governance has created a diversity of YMCA programmes and services, with YMCAs in different countries and communities offering vastly different programming in response to local community needs. Financial support for local associations
11220-472: Was called to sing on important national or ceremonial occasions. In January 1973, she sang " Precious Lord, Take My Hand " and " Onward, Christian Soldiers " at the state funeral of President Lyndon B. Johnson . (She had sung at his inauguration in 1965.) In 1980, President Jimmy Carter invited her to sing at the White House for the visit of Pope John Paul II and at the state dinner after the signing of
11330-466: Was considered a failure by many, who found the sequence of scenes confusing, the Shakespearean text unintelligible, and director Franco Zeffirelli 's production suffocatingly elaborate. Zeffirelli buried an essentially intimate score under giant scenery, a movable pyramid and sphinx, innumerable supernumeraries, and two camels. Bing had overreached, too, by scheduling three other new productions in
11440-465: Was considered a great success. When she sang the role at the Met in 1979, she was suffering from a viral infection and canceled all but the first and last of eight scheduled performances. Reviewing the first performance, the New York Times critic John Rockwell was not complimentary. In the U.S., her beautiful voice, personal dignity, and well known patriotism made her an iconic American, who
11550-686: Was considered by critics as superlative. She appeared even more rarely in opera in Europe. In the early 1970s, she sang Aida and a single Forza in Hamburg, and returned to London's Covent Garden in Trovatore and Aida . However, she gave well received recitals in Hamburg, Vienna, Paris, and at the Salzburg Festival. At the latter she became a special favorite, appearing there in 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, and 1984. In 1976, after almost
11660-601: Was not controversial. Price's appearance had not been widely advertised by NBC, which had a policy of "integration without identification", and the Jackson, Mississippi, NBC affiliate carried the broadcast signal to her home town of Laurel. However, Jet magazine noted that her appearance with tenor David Poleri , the Cavaradossi, marked a first TV broadcast with a mixed-racial couple, and her later NBC Opera broadcasts were boycotted by several NBC affiliates, most of them in
11770-834: Was organized near the Jaffa Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem and the current landmark building was dedicated by General Lord Allenby in 1933 during the British Mandate of Palestine. Within ten days of the declaration of World War I , YMCA had established 250 recreation centres, also known as huts, in the United Kingdom, and went to build temporary huts across Europe to support both soldiers and civilians alike, run by thousands of volunteers. Some of them, known as field secretaries, also went into war zones to support prisoners-of-war in Europe and Russia. Notable supporters and volunteers included Clementine Churchill (for which she
11880-545: Was reorganized in 1906 as the Association Institute, and this in turn was established as Fenn College in 1929. In 1964, Fenn College became a state college named Cleveland State University. American high school students have a chance to participate in YMCA Youth and Government , wherein clubs of children representing each YMCA community convene annually in their respective state legislatures to "take over
11990-533: Was taken on a school trip to hear Marian Anderson sing a recital in Jackson . The experience was her first significant exposure to classical music , and she later recalled: "The whole aura of the occasion had a tremendous effect on me, particularly the singer's dignity and, of course, her voice." Multiple commentators asserted that this event galvanized Price's interest in a musical career. In her teen years, Price attended Oak Park Vocational High School, where she
12100-403: Was the opening night of the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center on September 16, 1966, in Barber's Antony and Cleopatra , a new opera commissioned for the occasion. The composer had written the role of Cleopatra especially for Price, often visiting her at home to run through new pages of the score. In reviews of the premiere, Price's singing was highly praised. However, the opera
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