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Creator
Wilkerson, Frederick
Call number
Sc MG 377
Physical description
5.67 linear feet (14 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
[Item], Frederick Wilkerson papers, Sc MG 377, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Frederick Wilkerson was a singer, vocal clinician, consultant, and coach. This collection consists of correspondence, student records and applications, sheet music, and records of the Frederick Wilkerson Scholarship Foundation, which he founded.

Biographical/historical information

Frederick Wilkerson was a singer, vocal clinician, consultant, and coach. Born in Texas, Wilkerson joined the Williams Quintet at 13; he trained at Brick's College in North Carolina, sang in various choirs, and studied with Elizabeth Loguen. Wilkerson appeared professionally in Europe under the stage name of Gilbert Adams. His student roster included Roberta Flack, Maya Angelou, Earl Hyman, William Parker, Phyllis Diller, Inez Matthews, Joyce Bryant, and others. He taught voice pedagogy at Howard University in the late 1940s and 1950s, and part-time at Catholic University. He served as vocal coach for the 1947 stage production of Porgy and Bess. He also published two articles, which have become standard references for music teachers, "Early American Music" and "Constructive Anxiety on the Part of Young Vocal Students". In 1967, Wilkerson founded the Frederick Wilkerson Scholarship Foundation in Washington D.C., for deserving students and artists in need of financial assistance. Wilkerson also served as its artistic director and head of the Wilkerson Scholarship Choir. The Foundation tried to build a conservatory of vocal arts in Washington. Its first fundraiser was a concert given by mezzo-soprano Janet Baker at Constitution Hall on February 15, 1968. Wilkerson also was a member of various professional organizations, including the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the Washington Music Teachers Association. He passed away in 1980.

Scope and arrangement

This collection consists of personal papers and professional materials related to Frederick Wilkerson's career as a vocal coach and founder of the Frederick Wilkerson Scholarship Foundation. Personal papers consist of biographical information, correspondence, notes for a book, a copy of Wilkerson's will, and memorial service programs. The Teaching career series mostly contains student applications, performance programs of his students, and printed matter on former students. There also are articles on vocal techniques and coaching methods. The Frederick Wilkerson Scholarship Foundation series consists of administrative information, such as by-laws, Board of Directors meeting minutes, patron lists, mailing lists, correspondence, and financial information. Additionally, there are materials related to the programs sponsored by the Foundation, such as the production of Paradise Lost and Regained, written by and conducted by Eva Jessye, and Roberta Flack conducting the Frederick Wilkerson Choir. Sheet music contains music and lyrics by various composers and arrangers, including Margaret Bonds, Hall Johnson, and Philippa Schuyler; this music was most likely used by Wilkerson for his students. The Subject files include printed matter (clippings, articles, and programs) on various individuals, publications, and topics of interest to Wilkerson (such as Black musicians). This series also contains various musical programs and playbills collected by Wilkerson over the years. The two scrapbooks include musical reviews and commentaries on various artists, including some of Wilkerson's students, and personal correspondence and photographs.

The Frederick Wilkerson papers are arranged in six series:

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of Gaynelle Reed Lewis, December 1985.

Revision History

Finding aid updated by Lauren Stark. (2021 July 28)

Processing information

Accessioned by Berlena Robinson, March 1986.

Separated material

Transferred to the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division: audio and moving image materials. For more information, please contact the division at schomburgaudiovisual@nypl.org or 212-491-2270.

Transferred to the Photographs and Prints Division: photographs.

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor