Smith Conrad displayed a love of music at an early age

By Cory Smith | news@campcountynow.com

Barbara Smith Conrad, a mezzo-soprano opera singer and native of Camp County, displayed a love of music at an early age and has used her talents around the world. 
She has performed in Europe and North and South America on stages ranging from the Metropolitan Opera in New York to the Vienna State Opera to Teatro Nacional Venezuela. 
She has stood on stage with the great orchestras of the world from the New York Philharmonic to the London Symphony, and she has worked with renowned conductors such as Leonard Bernstein and James Levine.
Barbara grew up in the Center Point community just outside Pittsburg and at 19, traveled south to Austin to attend the University of Texas in 1956. She arrived in the state capital as a defacto history maker because the year of her matriculation was the first that Texas allowed African-Americans to enroll. 
A year later, in 1957, she auditioned for and received the lead role in the university’s production of the opera, Dido and Aeneas. Her role of Dido, the Queen of Carthage, placed her opposite a white student as Aeneas, her lover. 
At the time, segregation was the norm in Austin — no dormitories, restaurants, or barbershops served African-American students, and the Ku Klux Klan marched openly down Congress Avenue. 
Once news of Smith’s casting spread, she began receiving threatening calls and was accosted on campus by an unknown man who spat in her face. 
Eventually, the uproar caught the attention of the Texas Legislature, where Smith’s own representative from East Texas, Joe N. Chapman, threatened cuts in the university’s appropriation if Smith were allowed to perform. 
Ultimately, President Logan Wilson decided to remove Smith from the role, leaving her feeling betrayed but determined to continue her education. 
“After the initial shock and hurt had passed,” she told the Daily Texan, “I began to realize that the ultimate success of integration at the university was much more important than my appearance in the opera.”
By all accounts that’s the way Barbara is, she is ever-championing causes she believes in. So, even after singer Harry Belafonte offered to fund her training at the institution of her choice if she left Texas, she chose to complete her education at UT, later recounting that, “no one can run me out of my home state.” 
She graduated in 1959 with a Bachelor of Music degree and began what has turned into a long and storied career. After signing with Equity, an entertainment labor union, she discovered the group already had a Barbara Smith registered on their books, so she started using her father’s first name of Conrad to help differentiate herself.
Barbara performed with the Metropolitan Opera for eight years, from 1982 to 1989, and has performed leading operatic roles with not only the aforementioned operas, but the Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and many other international opera houses throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and South America. Under the direction of some of the world’s leading conductors, she has performed much of the mezzo-soprano concert repertoire with the world’s greatest orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the London, Boston, Cleveland, and Detroit Symphonies.
In 1977 Barbara played Marian Anderson in the three-hour ABC movie “Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years,” and in 1994 followed that performance with a European concert/recital tour commemorating the renowned contralto. In 1987, she was invited by President Reagan to sing at the White House in honor of Lady Bird Johnson’s 75th birthday. 
A personal highlight for her was an invitation to perform for Pope John Paul II during his 1995 visit to New York City. Among her many other accomplishments is her recording of a collection of spirituals with the choir of the Convent Avenue Baptist Church, released on the Naxos label to critical acclaim.
She has also garnered many awards and accolades over the years including being named a Distinguished Alumnus by the University of Texas in 1985, as well as being honored by the Texas Legislature in 2009.
Today, Smith Conrad continues to complement her performing activities with artist residencies and master classes, establishing herself as one of the foremost builders of voice both in the U.S. and abroad. She is the co-director and co-founder of the Wagner Theater Program at the Manhattan School of Music and maintains a private vocal studio in Manhattan.
One thing is without question, her musical roots sprouted from stroking the keys of the old family piano in Center Point, where she and her siblings explored a variety of musical genres, and where her love of music first developed.