Robert White obit

Robert White, American Irish tenor, dies at 89

 

He was not on the list.

The iconic singer of Irish songs was loved way beyind his home community. Known as Little John McCormack, he performed with Big Five orchestras, recorded extensively and taught music history at the Manhattan School of Music.

White began performing Irish songs on the radio in 1942 at the age of six on programs such as Coast to Coast on a Bus and The Fred Allen Show; earning the nickname the "little John McCormack". In the late 1950s, he embarked on a career as a concert tenor, and achieved success as an exponent of early music by such composers as Handel, Bach, and Monteverdi during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. He has performed in concerts with several major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy, and has performed at the White House for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter.

In the mid 1970s White returned to his roots as a performer of Irish songs, and achieved fame internationally as an 'Irish tenor,' drawing comparison to John McCormack; he even performed on programs for BBC television in honor of the late tenor. He continued to perform in concerts with a diverse repertoire ranging from Irish ballads to opera to contemporary art songs and works from the classical tenor canon. Several composers wrote works specifically for him, including Mark Adamo, William Bolcom, John Corigliano, Lukas Foss, Stephen Hough, Libby Larsen, Lowell Liebermann, Gian Carlo Menotti, Tobias Picker, Ned Rorem, and David Del Tredici. He has made several recordings for RCA Victor Records, mainly of Irish songs and ballads, and has also recorded a diverse repertoire for Virgin Classics, EMI, and Hyperion. A one-time faculty member of Hunter College and the Manhattan School of Music, he later taught on the voice faculty of the Juilliard School. He also worked periodically as an interviewer for the radio station WQXR-FM.

White was born in the Bronx, the fifth of six children of tenor, composer, and radio actor Joseph White and lyricist Maureen O'Byrne White. His mother was originally from Galway, Ireland, and his father was the grandson of an Irish immigrant from Kerry. His father achieved fame portraying the title role on the NBC Radio program The Silver-Masked Tenor; a program for which he also composed many of the songs. White's mother Maureen was his father's lyricist.

He began performing on WJZ radio at the age of 6 under the name Bobby White, and recorded his first album, Ring of Gold, at the age of 7. He usually performed Irish folk songs and ballads on the radio, and was dubbed by Milton Cross as "our own little John McCormack." Some of the radio programs he performed on were Coast to Coast on a Bus; Irene Wicker, the Singing Lady; and The Fred Allen Show. On the latter show he became acquainted with The DeMarco Sisters, with whom he was notably trapped for four days during the North American blizzard of 1947.He also had the opportunity to perform with such legendary entertainers as Humphrey Bogart, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra on Allen's program. By the age of 12 he was performing challenging tenor songs with full orchestras on NBC radio, such as 'Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life' from Victor Herbert's Naughty Marietta.

White's initial training as a singer was established through lessons with his father. His skills were also sharpened as a chorister at St. Jerome's Church in the Bronx. He earned a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from Hunter College. He then pursued studies in Germany, Italy, and at the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau in France with Gerard Souzay and Nadia Boulanger. He went on to earn a Master of Music in vocal performance from the Juilliard School in 1968 where he was a pupil of Beverley Peck Johnson. While at Juilliard, he played the role of Charles in the world premiere of Paul Hindemith's The Long Christmas Dinner for the Juilliard Opera Center in 1963. He continued to study voice privately with Johnson throughout his professional career.

In 1959, at the age of 22, White replaced an ailing Russell Oberlin as Pilate in Georg Böhm's St John Passion (then falsely attributed to George Frideric Handel) for performances at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic under conductor Leonard Bernstein. Later that year, he was a featured soloist in Henry Purcell's The Fairy-Queen with the Masterwork Chorus of Morristown, New Jersey. In 1960 he became a member of New York Pro Musica, first performing as a featured soloist with the group in a concert of works by Flemish composers Heinrich Isaac, Josquin des Prez, Jacob Obrecht, and Adrian Willaert at Town Hall in New York City.

In the 1960s, White performed as a member or guest artist with several early music chamber ensembles including the Clarion Concerts Orchestra, the Renaissance Quartet and Trio Flauto Dolce. In 1962, he sang Mathan in the United States premiere of Handel's Athalia at Saint Thomas Church in Manhattan in a concert conducted by Harold Aks and presented by the Interracial Music Council. In 1963 he performed with soprano Helen Boatwright, actor Basil Rathbone, and The Consort Players under the direction of Sydney Beck for a concert in the East Room of the White House that was attended by President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg among other dignitaries. That same year he portrayed The Old Chess Player in the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's television opera Labyrinth with the NBC Opera Theatre. In April 1964. he sang in the New York City premiere of Jack Gottlieb's Tea Party at the Donnell Library Center for the New York Composers Forum.

In December 1965, White was the tenor soloist in both Handel's Messiah and Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B minor with the New York Chamber Orchestra under conductor Hermann Scherchen for concerts at Philharmonic Hall in Lincoln Center. In 1966, he was the tenor soloist in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with contralto Lili Chookasian, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and conductor Eugene Ormandy at Lincoln Center. That same year he performed the world premiere of John Corigliano's The Cloisters at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1966. In 1967 he was the tenor soloist in Handel's L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato with the Musica Aeterna Chorus & Orchestra and conductor Frederic Waldman at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He also returned to Lincoln Center that year as the tenor soloist in Mozart's Requiem with the New York Chamber Orchestra and conductor Werner Torkanowsky for the Mostly Mozart Festival.

In 1968, White portrayed Acis in Handel's Acis and Galatea with the New York Chamber Soloists and conductor/harpsichordist Albert Fuller at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1969, he was the tenor soloist in the Clarion Music Society's (CMS) performance of Claudio Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine at Avery Fisher Hall. That same year, he portrayed Egeo in Simon Mayr's Medea in Corinto at Alice Tully Hall for the CMS with Marisa Galvany in the title role.