Anthony D. Anderson (born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

) is an American

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

singer.

Early life

Anderson is the youngest of seven children; his father was killed in a drive-by shooting when he was 3 years old. Since then he lived with his mother, Charlene Anderson, and his other siblings. He attended the DC Prep

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

. Here he was also introduced to the City Kids Wilderness Project. He graduated from

Duke Ellington School of the Arts The Duke Ellington School of the Arts (established 1974) is a high school located at 35th Street and R Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., and dedicated to arts education. One of the high schools of the District of Columbia Public School syst ...

where he found his desire of singing and devoted himself towards

. Over the years he learned skills in areas such as language in Italian and found he had a natural affinity towards German. He was employed at Chipotle but couldn't hold on to the position. He attended

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

until June 2017, when he was forced to drop out because he could not afford $9,000 that

student loans A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest ...

did not cover, thus he was not able to re-enroll unless the debt was paid. Anderson has been accepted into the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music and dance music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliat ...

, and

Oberlin Conservatory of Music The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music school, music conservatory of Oberlin College, a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the ...

with full scholarships.

Career

He has been featured on the ''Today'' show. Anderson has performed at the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

for the Horatio Alger Association. He performed professionally at the

Fort Worth Opera Fort Worth Opera is the oldest continually-performing opera company in the state of Texas and among the oldest in the United States, according to the company. While originally presenting operas one at a time over a fall/winter season, it changed ...

. Anderson currently studies at the Oberlin Conservatory to further his education and hone his skills as a musician under the direction of Timothy LeFebvre. He is scheduled to graduate in the spring of 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Anthony American operatic baritones 21st-century American male opera singers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers African-American male opera singers Singers from Washington, D.C. Classical musicians from Washington, D.C. Virginia Commonwealth University alumni Living people 1990s births Year of birth uncertain