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Armenta Adams (Hummings) Dumisani (born 1936) is an American
Armenta Adams plays Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata
at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1992 {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Armenta 1936 births Living people Musicians from Cleveland African-American classical pianists American women classical pianists American classical pianists African-American music educators 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists American women music educators Juilliard School alumni Eastman School of Music faculty African-American women musicians 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American musicians African-American women pianists
Armenta Adams (Hummings) Dumisani (born 1936) is an American concert pianist
A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz, blues, and popular music, including rock and roll. Most pianists can, to ...
and music educator
Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...
who since 1960 has performed in the United States and, thanks to an international relations award from the U.S. State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...
, in 27 other countries. In 1993, she founded the Gateways Music Festival which promotes the achievements of young African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
classical musicians. A former associate professor of music at the Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
, in 1994 she was appointed Eastman's Distinguished Community Mentor.
Biography
Born on 27 June 1936 inCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
, Armenta Adams was the daughter of Albert and Estella Adams, both of whom loved classical music. She was brought up in Cleveland together with her elder brother Elwyn, in a house her father built himself - as Adams put it, "brick by brick". From the age of four, she took piano lessons at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, while Elwyn (c.1933–1995) was taught the violin, later becoming an accomplished violinist.
From 1954, she studied piano at 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 ...
in New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
under Sascha Gorodnitzki
Sascha Gorodnitzki (24 May 19044 April 1986) was an American concert pianist, recording artist and pedagogue at the Juilliard School of Music.
Biography
Early life and education
Born in Kyiv, Russian Empire Gorodnitzki emigrated as an infa ...
, earning both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees.
Adams made her debut at the New York Town Hall in 1960, later performing at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
, Avery Fisher Hall
David Geffen Hall is a concert hall at Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic.
The facility, designed by Max Abramovitz, was o ...
, Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and Philanthropy, philanthropist whose donations assis ...
and the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
. She has performed across Europe under the Martha Baird Rockefeller
Martha Baird Rockefeller (March 15, 1895 – January 24, 1971) was an American pianist, philanthropist and longtime advocate for the arts.Martha Baird Rockefeller, 1895—1971 in “The Rockefellers.” Sleepy Hollow, New York: The Rockefell ...
Aid to Music award and in Africa, South America, India and Pakistan thanks to an international relations award from the U.S. State Department.
Now divorced, Adams has four sons, the violist Amadi Azikiwe (born 1969), the naval officer Gus Jr., and Martin (an educator) and Marcus (a psychologist) who are identical twins.
References
External links
Armenta Adams plays Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata
at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1992 {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Armenta 1936 births Living people Musicians from Cleveland African-American classical pianists American women classical pianists American classical pianists African-American music educators 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists American women music educators Juilliard School alumni Eastman School of Music faculty African-American women musicians 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American musicians African-American women pianists