Portia White RememberedOnce a week, Portia White laced up her sturdy walking shoes and set out from her teaching job in Lucasville to hike the ten miles into Halifax. It was the height of the Depression. The roads were poor and dusty. But Mozart, Bach and singing teacher Dr. Ernesto Vinci awaited her at the Halifax Conservatory of Music. How could you count a few miles against that?
The walk was well worth it. The ringing contralto voice that was captivating Halifax audiences would soon make Portia White famous in New York and Toronto.
Portia first felt the thrill of music when at the age of six she joined the Cornwallis St. Baptist Church choir. Her father was pastor there and the choir often consisted entirely of the thirteen White children, directed by their mother Izie. Even then, Portia dreamed of seeing herself onstage.
As Portia and her talent became known, Nova Scotians rallied behind her. Friends gave her a white fox fur coat. An admiring farmer in the Canning area named a variety of apple after her. The Halifax Ladies’ Musical Club gave her a scholarship for her studies. And the Nova Scotia Talent Trust was created especially to assist her career. After her much-praised 1944 debut in New York, Portia spent ten years touring North and South America. When ill health forced her to retire, she settled in Toronto and taught some of Canada’s foremost pop singers of the day: future Camelot star Robert Goulet, Dinah Christie, Don Francks and TV’s Friendly Giant, Bob Homme.
Today, her spirit lives on. Portia White was the first black Canadian to become an important classical artist. At a time when black musicians were rarely seen in operas and orchestras, she was able to build a successful recital career. Her talent and determination continue to inspire Nova Scotians of all colours. Here was a woman who knew precisely what success demanded. First you dream. Then you lace up your walking shoes.