Mary Cardwell Dawson

Mary Cardwell Dawson (February 14, 1894 – March 19, 1962) was an African-American musician and teacher and the founding director of the National Negro Opera Company.

Biography

Born in Meridian, North Carolina, USA, she moved as a child with her family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She trained at both the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts and the Chicago Musical College. She taught voice privately and at the Cardwell School of Music, which she founded in 1927 in Pittsburgh. She toured in the 1930s with the Cardwell Dawson Choir, which performed at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago and at the New York World’s Fair. Dawson served as president of the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) from 1939 to 1941.

After presenting the opera Aida at the NANM convention of 1941, Dawson launched her National Negro Opera Company later that same year with a performance at Pittsburgh's Syria Mosque. The star was La Julia Rhea, and other members included Minto Cato, Carol Brice, Robert McFerrin, and Lillian Evanti. NNOC mounted productions in Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. Pianist Ahmad Jamal began formal training at the age of seven with Ms. Dawson, whom he says greatly influenced him.