H.C.R. No. 31

	HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, A gifted opera singer, Barbara Smith Conrad has been
	delighting audiences for the past four decades, achieving worldwide
	acclaim and recognition; and
	WHEREAS, Raised in the East Texas community of Center Point,
	Barbara Smith began exploring music as a child; she and her siblings
	practiced playing a variety of genres on their family's piano, from
	sonatas by Mozart to the gospel hymns they heard at their local
	Baptist church; she went on to attend The University of Texas at
	Austin, and as a sophomore, she won the lead role in the campus
	production of Dido and Aeneas; however, in an incident that drew
	national attention, Ms. Smith was advised by school administrators
	that she could not perform in the opera; despite an offer from actor
	Harry Belafonte to underwrite her studies at the institution of her
	choice, she chose to remain at the university and earned her
	bachelor's degree in music from UT in 1959; and
	WHEREAS, Pursuing a career as a vocalist in the years that
	followed, she took her father's first name, Conrad, and toured with
	various opera groups; in 1977, she was cast as Marian Anderson in
	the ABC television movie, Eleanor and Franklin: The White House
	Years; she also garnered praise for her work in the Houston Grand
	Opera production of Carmen, and she became a performer with the
	prestigious Metropolitan Opera from 1982 to 1989; this exceptional
	mezzo-soprano continued to play leading roles with the Vienna State
	Opera, New York City Opera, Teatro Nacional de Venezuela,
	Pittsburgh Opera, and others throughout the United States, Canada,
	Europe, and South America; moreover, she has been accompanied by
	such celebrated orchestras as the New York Philharmonic and the
	symphonies of London, Boston, Cleveland, and Detroit; and
	WHEREAS, In 1984, Ms. Conrad returned to her alma mater to
	lend her voice for the premiere of Al-Inkishafi, and the following
	year, she was named a Distinguished Alumnus by the Ex-Students'
	Association of The University of Texas; she has also been honored
	with invitations to sing at the White House for Lady Bird Johnson's
	75th birthday and to perform for Pope John Paul II during his visit
	to New York City in 1995; and
	WHEREAS, Today, among her other pursuits, Ms. Conrad spends
	time at her vocal studio in Manhattan and works closely with the
	Manhattan School of Music as the cofounder and codirector of its
	Wagner Theater Program; she also regularly participates in the
	Distinguished Alumnus Awards at UT, where she often sings "The Eyes
	of Texas"; fittingly, the university has created an endowed
	presidential scholarship in fine arts in Ms. Conrad's name, and in
	2005, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at UT announced
	the Endowment for the Study of the American Spiritual, for which Ms.
	Conrad serves as the national ambassador; she released a recording
	of spirituals in 1995 with the choir of the Convent Avenue Baptist
	Church and remains dedicated to preserving this art form; and
	WHEREAS, With talent and perseverance, Barbara Smith Conrad
	has become a world-renowned mezzo-soprano, and in realizing her
	dreams, she is an inspiration to countless individuals; now,
	therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas
	hereby commend Barbara Smith Conrad on her accomplished musical
	career and her role in the movement toward civil rights in the
	United States of America, and extend to her sincere best wishes for
	continued success and happiness; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
	prepared for Ms. Conrad as an expression of high regard by the Texas
	House of Representatives and Senate.
	Hughes
	Dukes
	Naishtat
	Thompson
	King of Taylor
	Straus Gattis Menendez
	Allen Geren Merritt
	Alonzo Giddings Miklos
	Alvarado Gonzales Miller of Comal
	Anchia Gonzalez Toureilles Miller of Erath
	Anderson Guillen Moody
	Aycock Gutierrez Morrison
	Berman Hamilton Naishtat
	Bohac Hancock Oliveira
	Bolton Hardcastle Olivo
	Bonnen Harless Orr
	Branch Harper-Brown Ortiz, Jr.
	Brown of Kaufman Hartnett Otto
	Brown of Brazos Heflin Parker
	Burnam Hernandez Patrick
	Button Herrero Paxton
	Callegari Hilderbran Pena
	Castro Hochberg Phillips
	Chavez Hodge Pickett
	Chisum Homer Pierson
	Christian Hopson Pitts
	Cohen Howard of Fort Bend Quintanilla
	Coleman Howard of Travis Raymond
	Cook Hughes Riddle
	Corte Hunter Rios Ybarra
	Crabb Isett Ritter
	Craddick Jackson Rodriguez
	Creighton Jones Rose
	Crownover Keffer Sheffield
	Darby Kent Shelton
	Davis of Harris King of Parker Smith of Tarrant
	Davis of Dallas King of Taylor Smith of Harris
	Deshotel King of Zavala Smithee
	Driver Kleinschmidt Solomons
	Dukes Kolkhorst Strama
	Dunnam Kuempel Swinford
	Dutton Laubenberg Taylor
	Edwards Legler Thibaut
	Eiland Leibowitz Thompson
	Eissler Lewis Truitt
	Elkins Lucio III Turner of Tarrant
	England Madden Turner of Harris
	Farabee Maldonado Vaught
	Farias Mallory Caraway Veasey
	Farrar Marquez Villarreal
	Fletcher Martinez Vo
	Flores Martinez Fischer Walle
	Flynn McCall Weber
	Frost McClendon Woolley
	Gallego McReynolds Zerwas
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.C.R. No. 31 was adopted by the House on
	February 5, 2009, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.C.R. No. 31 was adopted by the Senate on
	February 10, 2009, by a viva-voce vote.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor