Bertha Des Verney

Bertha Des Verney (October 5, 1890 – January 1, 1975) was an American pianist, composer, music educator, singer, playwright. She was choir and drama director at the Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Harlem for over forty years, director of the Washington Music School in Albany, New York, and organized the Ministers of Music and Drama League. She was active in the National Association of Negro Musicians.

Bertha Des Verney
Bertha Des Verney, from a 1942 publication.
Bertha Des Verney, from a 1942 publication.
Born
Bertha Wheeler

October 5, 1890
Dallas, Texas
DiedJanuary 1, 1975
New York City
NationalityAmerican
Other namesBertha Desverney, Bertha DesVerney
Occupation(s)pianist, choir and drama director, music educator, composer
Known forover forty years as music director at Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

Early life

Bertha Wheeler was born in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of Sam Wheeler and Sarah J. Spence Wheeler (later Sarah J. Whitaker). Her mother was a music teacher. As a child she won a gold medal for singing at the State Fair of Texas. She trained as a teacher at Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College, and studied music at the A. Smythe Music Conservatory in Oak Cliff, Texas. In New York after 1912, she took further classes, at the City College of New York, and the New York School of Social Work Administration.[1]

Career

Bertha Des Verney (her married surname is sometimes written as Desverney or DesVerney) was choir director at Mother AME Zion Church in Harlem for over forty years, director of the Washington Music School in Albany, New York, and organized the Ministers of Music and Drama League.[2][3] She also taught music classes at the Utopia Children's House.[4] She was active in the New York Charity Bureau, the Volunteer Club, and the Women's Professional and Business Club.[1] Her students gave musical performances on the Chautauqua platform and on radio programs.[5][6] She also wrote and produced concerts and historical pageants for church fundraisers, including "Great Women of the World Speak" (1958).[7][8] She was active in the National Association of Negro Musicians.[9]

She was a jubilee singer in the original Broadway production of Show Boat in 1929.[10] She wrote a spiritual, "De Ole Sheep Done Know de Road" (1956),[11] and longer works including The Life of Harriet Tubman (1965)[12] and Elastic Fingers (1970).[13] In 1959, there was a reception honoring Bertha Des Verney, "one of Harlem's most versatile citizens", with Marian Anderson, Philippa Schuyler, and Leigh Whipper among the notable presenters.[14][15]

Personal life

Bertha Wheeler married fellow musician Broughum C. Des Verney in 1915, in New York; they divorced in 1929.[10] Her mother Sarah J. Whitaker was living in New York by 1930.[16] Bertha Des Verney died in 1975, aged 84 years, in New York City. Her papers are archived in the New York Public Library.[9]

References
  1. Who's who in Colored America (Yenser 1942): 153, 156.
  2. "Mrs. Bertha Des Verney: Outstanding Musical Teacher" The New York Age (January 21, 1950): 28. via Newspapers.com
  3. "Musicians and Dramatists Set Artists Recital" The New York Age (January 23, 1954): 14. via Newspapers.com
  4. "Utopia House Notes" The New York Age (August 29, 1931): 2. via Newspapers.com
  5. "Mrs. Bertha DesVerney's Juveniles Give Splendid Program on Wednesday in a 'Classic Matinee'" The New York Age (August 23, 1924): 7. via Newspapers.com
  6. "Harlem Youngsters in Junior Concert Company" The New York Age (October 6, 1928): 7. via Newspapers.com
  7. "Auxiliaries to Present History Drama" The New York Age (January 18, 1958): 10. via Newspapers.com
  8. "Music Notes" The New York Age (November 4, 1933): 6. via Newspapers.com
  9. Bertha Des Verney Papers, New York Public Library, Archives & Manuscripts.
  10. "Broughum DesVerney Loses Wife by Divorce Decree and Cannot Remarry Unless Permitted to Do So by Court" The New York Age (March 30, 1929): 1. via Newspapers.com
  11. Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series (January–June 1956): 64.
  12. Catalog of Copyright Entries 3D Ser Vol 19 Pts 3-4 (Jan-June 1965): 22. via Internet Archive
  13. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1970: July-December (1970): 2135.
  14. "Misses Anderson, Schuyler Join Community Salute to Mrs. DesVerney" The New York Age (July 11, 1959): 11. via Newspapers.com
  15. Ted Ston, "Heard and Seen" Daily Defender (June 30, 1959): 10. via ProQuest
  16. "New Benevolent Group to Install Officers" The New York Age (February 15, 1930): 2. via Newspapers.com
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