Madame Marie Selika: Cincinnati’s Internationally Renowned Black Diva in Music Hall
By Thea Tjepkema Raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mary S. Price Holloway Williams, “Madame Marie Selika” (1850-1937), became a renowned African … Read More
HELEN WALKER KING: “Cincinnati’s Soloist” – A Black Voice for Change Through Music
By Thea Tjepkema Dramatic soprano Helen Walker King (1898-1957) was an important Black voice in Cincinnati during the first half … Read More
Nadine Roberts Waters: La Cantatrice de Cincinnati
By Thea Tjepkema There are singers whose names are legends and whose artistry will never be forgotten. There are others … Read More
Estella Rowe & Wade Mann:
First Local Black Soloists with the CSO
by Thea Tjepkema Although Music Hall hosted numerous African American artists in her early days, it was not until … Read More
Mamie Smith: Queen of the Blues in Cincinnati Music Hall
By Thea Tjepkema Tornadoes had swept the south, and a blizzard gripped the western states on April 16, 1921, when … Read More
Divas in Cincinnati Music Hall:
Patti, Patti, Patti, and Jones
by Thea Tjepkema The phenomenal singing careers of four women in the nineteenth century were announced and recognized in … Read More