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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, A gifted opera singer, Barbara Smith Conrad has been |
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delighting audiences for the past four decades, achieving worldwide |
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acclaim and recognition; and |
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WHEREAS, Raised in the East Texas community of Center Point, |
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Barbara Smith began exploring music as a child; she and her siblings |
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practiced playing a variety of genres on their family's piano, from |
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sonatas by Mozart to the gospel hymns they heard at their local |
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Baptist church; she went on to attend The University of Texas at |
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Austin, and as a sophomore, she won the lead role in the campus |
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production of Dido and Aeneas; however, in an incident that drew |
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national attention, Ms. Smith was advised by school administrators |
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that she could not perform in the opera; despite an offer from actor |
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Harry Belafonte to underwrite her studies at the institution of her |
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choice, she chose to remain at the university and earned her |
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bachelor's degree in music from UT in 1959; and |
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WHEREAS, Pursuing a career as a vocalist in the years that |
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followed, she took her father's first name, Conrad, and toured with |
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various opera groups; in 1977, she was cast as Marian Anderson in |
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the ABC television movie, Eleanor and Franklin: The White House |
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Years; she also garnered praise for her work in the Houston Grand |
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Opera production of Carmen, and she became a performer with the |
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prestigious Metropolitan Opera from 1982 to 1989; this exceptional |
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mezzo-soprano continued to play leading roles with the Vienna State |
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Opera, New York City Opera, Teatro Nacional de Venezuela, |
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Pittsburgh Opera, and others throughout the United States, Canada, |
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Europe, and South America; moreover, she has been accompanied by |
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such celebrated orchestras as the New York Philharmonic and the |
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symphonies of London, Boston, Cleveland, and Detroit; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1984, Ms. Conrad returned to her alma mater to |
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lend her voice for the premiere of Al-Inkishafi, and the following |
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year, she was named a Distinguished Alumnus by the Ex-Students' |
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Association of The University of Texas; she has also been honored |
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with invitations to sing at the White House for Lady Bird Johnson's |
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75th birthday and to perform for Pope John Paul II during his visit |
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to New York City in 1995; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, among her other pursuits, Ms. Conrad spends |
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time at her vocal studio in Manhattan and works closely with the |
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Manhattan School of Music as the cofounder and codirector of its |
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Wagner Theater Program; she also regularly participates in the |
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Distinguished Alumnus Awards at UT, where she often sings "The Eyes |
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of Texas"; fittingly, the university has created an endowed |
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presidential scholarship in fine arts in Ms. Conrad's name, and in |
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2005, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at UT announced |
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the Endowment for the Study of the American Spiritual, for which Ms. |
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Conrad serves as the national ambassador; she released a recording |
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of spirituals in 1995 with the choir of the Convent Avenue Baptist |
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Church and remains dedicated to preserving this art form; and |
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WHEREAS, With talent and perseverance, Barbara Smith Conrad |
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has become a world-renowned mezzo-soprano, and in realizing her |
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dreams, she is an inspiration to countless individuals; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby commend Barbara Smith Conrad on her accomplished musical |
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career and her role in the movement toward civil rights in the |
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United States of America, and extend to her sincere best wishes for |
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continued success and happiness; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Ms. Conrad as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives and Senate. |