MTSU School of Music vocal professor Dina Cancryn has a new song in her heart for Black History Month: sharing the stories of some of the first classical singers of color.

Cancryn created “Portraits: The First Black American Divas of Song and Opera,” a theatrical production that depicts Elizabeth Taylor-Greenfield, Sissieretta Jones and Marian Anderson sharing their history and their fabulous voices, a decade ago.

Now a special performance of “Portraits,” captured on video, is available for public screenings after its Feb. 1 “premiere” in MTSU’s Wright Music Building. Cancryn discusses the film and its creation above.

Read the full story here.

— Video by Gina Fann