Boston songwriter and marble and stone designer Dawn Carroll will take any opportunity to let the world know about Mary Cardwell Dawson (1894-1962), and the effort to save the Victorian mansion that served as the headquarters of the National Negro Opera Company that she founded in Pittsburgh in 1941.
Carroll’s soon to be released CD, “Songs for Mary”, is now also destined to be the soundtrack for a stage musical, “If The Walls Could Talk”. The Pittsburgh mansion which many called “Mystery Manor” became a gathering place and refuge for Black celebrities who could perform in public but were not allowed out in public after sunset, including boxer Joe Louis, baseball great Roberto Clemente, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, and so many others. Each song on the 15-song soundtrack is about the legends who stayed at the Queen Anne-style mansion.
Nearly forgotten by history, Mary Cardwell Dawson graduated in 1925 from New England Conservatory. She was the only Black student in her class, but found there were no opportunities for opera singers of color. She would not be deterred, however, and in 1941 founded the National Negro Opera Company. She provided talented African American singers with opportunities denied them by unjust Jim Crow segregation. For twenty-one years until her death in 1962 she trained students in voice and classical music, and produced acclaimed opera performances in New York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Washington.
Even Dawson’s New England Conservatory alma mater had long forgotten her until Carroll persevered last year, encouraging them to dig through their records until they found her file. Carroll then honored the school by donating a portrait of Mary by artist Iris Lee Marcus, which today hangs in the NEC library next to a bust of another notable alumna, Coretta Scott King.
Now Carroll has turned her sights on awakening the preservation community to the plight of the mansion, which has fallen into significant disrepair. Named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered sites in 2020, its newest owner Jonnet Solomon has struggled for two decades to find the significant support needed for its restoration. Carroll will present the case for the house to hundreds of preservationists with a 5-minute “Lightning Talk” at this year’s Historic New England Summit, November 2 and 3 at The Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence, RI.
“Even a five-minute talk can be enough to awaken the desire in someone to help save this magnificent architectural site, and in doing so, honor Mary’s legacy,” notes Carroll.
Carroll collaborated on the songs with longtime Boston rock veteran Jon Butcher, whose production, arranging, guitar and vocal skills are prominently featured on the CD’. In addition to rap, the songs embrace rock, pop, jazz and classical music. Each song on the 15-song soundtrack is about the legends who stayed at the mansion.
“What better way to bring this history to light than through music, her passion,” Carroll adds, “And the theatrical production will help us reach more audiences with her amazing story.” The entire project will be produced under the umbrella of the Over My Shoulder Foundation (OMSF) in Boston, a non-profit mentoring organization founded by Carroll and Grammy-award winning singer Patti Austin.
