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Dorothy Lofton Jones (1936-2018) was a soprano and a founder, artistic director, and costume maker of the Municipal Opera Company of Baltimore. She studied at the Peabody Preparatory and with Elaine Bonazzi. In this interview with Elizabeth Schaaf, Jones describes her own musical development and the founding and growth of the Municipal Opera Company.

Abstract James Nathan Jones (b. 1935) is a singer who performed with the Municipal Opera Company of Baltimore and the Metropolitan Opera touring company. He received a bachelor's and a master's degree from Morgan State University, where he wrote a thesis in 1978 titled "Alfred Jack Thomas (1884-1962): Musician, Composer, Educator." In this interview, Jones discusses his research on Thomas, his musical education with Robert Earl Anderson, his family's involvement in the Pennsylvania Avenue musical...

Abstract Junetta Jones (1936-2015) was a soprano and arts administrator. In 1959 she became the first African-American to be awarded an artist diploma from the Peabody Conservatory. She won local and regional Metropolitan Opera auditions and in 1963 was awarded a contract to sing with the company. She was the first African-American from the Maryland area to sing at the Metropolitan. In 1966 she went to Europe to perform in opera houses in Germany and Switzerland. After returning to Baltimore, she was...

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Interview by Andrew Fields of Thomas H. Kerr Jr. and an unidentified woman (probably his sister). Kerr Jr. was a composer, a piano instructor at Howard University, and the son of composer Thomas Kerr Sr. This interview is primarily a conversation about Kerr Sr.'s musical career.

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A record producer, composer, pianist, critic, and educator, Cal Lampley taught at the Peabody Conservatory and Morgan State University for many years in the 1970s and 1980s after working in the record industry. Interview with Elizabeth Schaaf.

Abstract Interview by Elizabeth Schaaf of Ellis Larkins (1923-2002), a pianist based in Baltimore. Larkins's wife, Crystal Larkins, is also heard during the interview.In 1934 Ellis Larkins made his debut with the Baltimore City Colored Orchestra. Larkins studied classical piano at Douglass High School and at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, at a time when African-American students were generally not admitted at Peabody. Larkins also served as an organist at the St. James Episcopal...

Abstract Born in Rich Springs, North Carolina, Douglas MacArthur moved to Baltimore's East Side as a teenager. He served in Europe with the U.S. Army 10th Cavalry during World War II. He began his carer as a musician while serving in the military. After returning to Baltimore, he became active with the Musicians' Union local 543 and continued his music education at the Larry London School of Music, majoring in double bass. He was a member of Tracy McCleary's band, the Royal Men of Rhythm, at the...

Abstract Henry Mays (1927-2017) began studying cello in Cincinnati with Victor Rice. He settled in Baltimore after serving in the U.S. Army at Fort Meade and resumed his musical studies privately with Victor Kessell and with Mihaly Virizlay at the Peabody Conservatory. He played in theater orchestras on Pennsylvania Avenue, with the Rivers Chambers Orchestra and with Meyer Davis. In 1967 Mays was hired to play in the newly opened Morris Mechanic Theatre. Mays also performed with orchestras at...

Abstract Audrey Cyrus McCallum was the first African-American student to attend the Peabody Preparatory division. She went on to study at the Peabody Conservatory with Julio Esteban, graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1960 and a master's in Music Education in 1967. She began her career as a music teacher in the Baltimore public schools, particularly Western High School, where she taught for 22 years. She is a member of the faculty of Morgan State University. Audrey McCallum is in constant...

Abstract Tracy McCleary (1914-2003) began musical studies at Frederick Douglass School in Oklahoma City and toured the Oklahoma oil fields during the 1920s. He was educated at Talladega College and Alabama State College. McCleary toured with Erskine Hawkins and performed with Benny Carter in New York. Arriving in Baltimore in the early 1930s, he was hired to play at the Plantation on Pennsylvania Avenue. He went on to lead Ike Dixon's band at the Comedy Club and then established his own band, Tracy's...

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Regina McCoy was the wife of jazz trumpeter Roy McCoy. She sang in choirs at Douglass High School, Enon Baptist Church, and the Worldwide Church of God. She worked at Fort Holabird during World War II and later she worked briefly at the Regent Theater on Pennsylvania Avenue. In 1943 she married Roy McCoy. She shared her husband's love for music and interest in photography.

Abstract Roy McCoy (1920-2001) began his musical career as a member of the Afro-American Drum and Bugle Corp. He studied with Clarence "Babe" Bright and A. Jack Thomas. He joined Sammy Louis's Band at the Ritz on Pennsylvania Aveue, where his towering height and size 14 shoes earned him the nickname "Tanglefoot." By 1937 he was a member of the house band at the Royal Theater. In 1942 he joined Lionel Hampton's band, with whom he toured and recorded. After a year on the road, McCoy returned to...

Abstract Melvin Miles began studying trumpet in elementary school and continued at Calverton Junior High School with Chester Rowlett, who inspired him to begin composing music. While a student at Douglass High, he performed with Frankie and the Spinners, a local rhythm and blues group and, later, with the Whatnauts (later reorganized as The Sound Experience). Miles went on to perform with the band at Morgan State University, where he would later serve on the faculty of the Music Department. He also...

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Delandria Mills is a jazz, gospel, and classical flutist, composer, educator, and author. She has studied at Prairie View A&M University and the Peabody Conservatory. Interview by Elizabeth Schaaf.

Abstract A graduate of Howard University, Fannie Newton Moragne (d. 2009) began her music training at Frederick Douglass High School and continued her training at Howard University, where she received her Bachelor of Music degree. She studied with Constantia Reckling, John Eltermann, Herman Schwarz, Martin Rich and Vincent Stanelli. Moragne toured throughout the United States as a soloist and was for many years a member of the faculty of the Baltimore Institute of Musical Arts. She appeared...

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A graduate of Benedict College, Russ Moss toured with the Benedict College Choir during his college days. A camera operator for WJZ-TV and a gifted photographer, he is also active as a musician in the Baltimore-Washington area. Moss has performed with the Stef Scaggiari Trio and Annapolis Junction. Interview by Elizabeth Schaaf.

Abstract Daughter of bandleader Cab Calloway and niece of singer Blanche Calloway, Camay Calloway Murphy attended Hunter College and New York University. She taught in West Africa, then served as supervisor of early childhood education and as principal in the public schools in Arlington, Virginia. After moving to Baltimore in the early 1980s, she became the director of the Eubie Blake Cultural Center in Baltimore, where she has been instrumental in encouraging and providing opportunities for young...

Abstract Aubrey Maurice Murphy was a pianist, organist, conductor, and vocal instructor. He studied at the Peabody Conservatory, where he earned a Bachelor of Music in 1961 and a Master of Music in 1963, becoming the first African American to receive a master's from Peabody. He served as organist for St. Mary's Episcopal Church, St. Peter Claver Church, and St. James Episcopal Church. He was accompanist for the Baltimore Choral Arts Society for many years. He served on the faculties of the Baltimore...

Abstract William (Bill) Myers began his musical studies in piano with Adah K. Jenkins. He then studied with Georgiana Chester at Douglass High School, at the Peabody Preparatory and Peabody Conservatory (BM 1962, MM 1968, Music Education), and at Morgan State University. Myers served with the U.S. Army Special Services in Europe in the 1960s. After returning to the U.S. and graduating from the Peabody Conservatory, Myers began teaching music and leading choirs in the Baltimore County Schools. Since...

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Gwen Nichols (1916-2008) was a music teacher for Baltimore City Public Schools. She studied with W. Llewellyn Wilson at Douglass High School and earned a degree from Coppin State. After retiring in 2002, she opened her own studio and taught privately. In this interview with Elizabeth Schaaf, Nichols discusses her musical training and her teaching career.

Abstract Jacqueline Owings (1931-2018) was a Baltimore choral singer. She studied with W. Llewellyn Wilson at Douglass High School and earned a degree from Coppin Teachers College. Owings was a soloist with the Girls Choir of the Baltimore Institute of Musical Arts, the Grace Presbyterian Choir, and the Knox Presbyterian Choir. She and her husband, James, performed with the Choral Club, the Morris Queen Chorale, the Baltimore Chapel Choir, and the Metropolitan United Methodist Church Choir. In this...

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Montell Poulson (1924-2007) was a jazz bassist based in Baltimore. He studied at Dunbar High School and Morgan State University and served in the South Pacific during World War II. He was a member of the Rivers Chambers Orchestra and performed regularly at the Royal Theatre and the Gayety in Baltimore and the Howard Theater in Washington. Poulson toured with Ethel Ennis, Fats Domino, and Billie Holiday. Interview by Elizabeth Schaaf.

Abstract Alfred E. Prettyman is a book publisher and college professor. He is the son of Edward Prettyman, a trumpeter and the conductor of the Colored Park Band of Baltimore. Alfred played a large role in changing the content of high school and college textbooks to include African Americans and Native Americans. He is the co-founder of Emerson Hall Publishers and the Society for the Study of Africana Philosophy. In this interview with Elizabeth Schaaf, he discusses his family's activity in the...

Abstract Lloyd Eugene Prettyman (1908-2006) was a bassist and French horn player for various musical ensembles based in Baltimore. Educated at Douglass High School and New York University, he studied double bass with A. Jack Thomas. While at Douglass, he went on the vaudeville circuit with a group called the Icy Hots, with Hamilton Murray, Frank Trigg, Teddy Plummer, Jimmy Waters, and Avon Long. He played French horn with the Masonic Band and the City Colored Park Band led by his brother, Edward...

Abstract Morris Queen (1931-2003) was a signer, organist, and music educator. During World War II he performed and toured as a member of the Great Lakes Singers and the Great Lakes Octet. After the war he attended Howard University, where he received degrees in music and in education. Queen was the organist at Sharp Street Methodist Church for more than 50 years and taught in Baltimore City Schools and the Peabody Conservatory's Summer Youth Project. He was the founder and conductor of the Morris...