My aunt's legacy lives on

The resurgence of interest in my father's sister's singing career and ability 56 years after her death and 113 years after her birth is quite extraordinary.
Aunt Portia was the darling of Canadian and international concert stages in her heyday. She was also Black, making her classical concertizing fame and accomplishments all the more noteworthy given the racist conditions that existed when she began carving her path. 

Canada honored her with a stamp and designated her a person of historical significance. Plays, books, films and singers have been inspired by her, public spaces named after her. She is the subject of heritage plaques and the namesake of cultural scholarships and prizes. Rather than waning, interest in Portia White is expanding.

June 2024 marks the historic opera based on Portia's life, the Canadian Opera Company's production of aportia chryptych, a first in a remarkable number of ways, including first all-Black cast. In October, author Charlie Rhindress explores Portia's life in a chapter of his new book about the Six All-Time Top Female Singers from Eastern Canada.

This year, the White Family will be rereleasing Portia's early concerts, including New York Town Hall's in 1944, restored and remastered. With eyes closed, the listener is in the concert halls, hearing the legendary voice with crystal clarity previously denied. What a treat it will be to offer this to a discerning listening public in both CD and vinyl formats.