Portia May White (June 24, 1911February 13, 1968) was a Canadian contralto, known for becoming the first Black Canadian concert singer to achieve international fame. Growing up as part of her father's church choir in Halifax, Nova Scotia, White competed in local singing competitions as a teenager and later trained at the Halifax Conservatory of Music. In 1941 and 1944, she made her national and international debuts as a singer, receiving critical acclaim for her performances of both classical European music and African-American spirituals. White later completed tours throughout Europe, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

When vocal difficulties and cancer eventually contributed to her retirement in 1952, White settled in Toronto and subsequently taught young Canadian musicians such as Lorne Greene, Dinah Christie, Don Francks, Robert Goulet and Anne Marie Moss. One of White's final major public appearances was a special command performance for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1964.

White was declared a person of national historic significance by the Government of Canada. Her original supporters in Nova Scotia went on to establish the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, awarding annual arts scholarships to both emerging and established local artists, and the government of Nova Scotia continues to award an annual Portia White Prize. In 2007, White was posthumously awarded a lifetime achievement award by the East Coast Music Association.

Early life and family

thumb|The [[New Horizons Baptist Church (formerly the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church)|alt=Photograph of the front of the New Horizons Baptist Church]]

Portia May White was born June 24, 1911, in Truro, Nova Scotia, the third of 13 children born to Izie Dora (White) and William Andrew White. Her mother was a descendant of Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia, while her father was the son of former slaves from Virginia; he moved to Canada independently. William attended Acadia University in Nova Scotia, later becoming the first Black Canadian to receive a Doctor of Divinity from Acadia. After the First World War, the White family moved to Halifax, and William became the minister of Cornwallis Street Baptist Church. White also became aunt to Senator Donald Oliver and political commentator Sheila White. where her mother was also the musical director. In an interview later in life, White explained that her love of music and performing had developed early:<blockquote>Nobody ever told me to sing, I was born singing. I think that if nobody had ever talked to me, I wouldn't be able to communicate in any other way but by singing. I was always bowing in my dreams and singing before people and parading across the stage as a very little girl.

White entered Dalhousie University in 1929, studying to become a teacher. From the early 1930s she taught in Africville and Lucasville, two small Halifax communities that were predominately Black Nova Scotian, and during this time White was finally able to begin paying for vocal lessons. Alongside English pieces, she performed music in Italian, German, French and Spanish, Hector Charlesworth's review in The Globe and Mail observed White's "pungent expression and beauty of utterance", while a critic with the Toronto Evening Telegram said she had a "coloured and beautifully shaded contralto... It is a natural voice, a gift from heaven."

White went on to sing at many more concerts across the United States. The province of Nova Scotia and the city of Halifax provided new financial support for the rising star, purchasing a white fox cape for White to wear at performances.

Vocal problems, an exhausting itinerary, and her students included singers Lorne Greene, Dinah Christie, Don Francks, Robert Goulet, and Judith Lander.

White died in Toronto of cancer on February 13, 1968, aged 56. and continues to award the Portia White Award to artists who show "exceptional commitment and potential in voice." The Nova Scotia provincial government also awards a Portia White Prize for "cultural and artistic excellence," and the 1998 inaugural Portia White Prize was awarded to Nova Scotian poet George Elliott Clarke, White's great nephew. and she was featured in a special issue of Millennium postage stamps celebrating Canadian achievement. as well as the Portia White Atrium in Citadel High School. In 2017, the Portia White Youth Award was established as part of the African Nova Scotian Music Awards.

White has been the subject of Lance Woolaver's play Portia White: First You Dream (also known simply as Portia), Sylvia Hamilton's documentary Portia White: Think on Me,

A new opera entitled Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White by HAUI and Sean Mayes premiered in June 2024 and was produced by the Canadian Opera Company The show made history as the first time a black composer, librettist, stage director, ensemble have worked on the COC stage. The show took home the 45th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Ensemble and Outstanding New Musical/New Opera.

A portrait of White by Hedley Rainnie is on permanent display at Government House, Nova Scotia in honour of her contributions to the arts.

Discography

  • Think on Me (1968, White House Records) WH-6901