Former Faculty; Former Member of the Board of Trustees

Betty Allen (member of the voice faculty since 1969 / Board of Trustees since 1984), an internationally renowned mezzo-soprano, educator and administrator, passed away on June 22, 2009. She was president emeritus of the Harlem School of the Arts, where she taught a master voice class, and a member of the faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music. She appeared as soloist with symphony orchestras under such major conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Pablo Casals, Edo de Waart, Antal Dorati, Istvan Kertesz, Rafael Kubelik, Erich Leinsdorf, Lorin Maazel, Jean Martinon, Charles Munch, Eugene Ormandy, Seiji Ozawa, John Pritchard, Georg Solti, William Steinberg, and Leopold Stokowski. She is especially well known for her performances in Virgil Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts. Apart from her symphonic appearances, Miss Allen was an active recitalist. She made her New York recital debut at Town Hall in 1958 and followed with appearances in London, The Hague, Oslo, Berlin, and Montreal. In 1964 she made her formal opera debut at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. She made her North American opera debut with the San Francisco Opera in 1966 and continued with the Canadian Opera and the Bellas Artes in Mexico City (1971), the New York City Opera (1973), and the Metropolitan Opera’s mini-Met (1974). The Viewing will take place Tuesday, June 30 from 4–8 PM at Benta's Funeral Home: 630 Saint Nicholas Avenue (at West 141st Street), in Harlem.

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