Early Life and Education
Harolyn Blackwell was born in Washington, D.C. on November 23, 1955, the eldest of five children. Both of her parents were teachers and active participants in the Civil Rights Movement. Her father, Harold Blackwell (for whom she was named) was also a redevelopment specialist with the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C. for many years and her mother taught physical education and health at the University of the District of Columbia.
Blackwell first became interested in music through the influence of her fourth grade teacher, Nancy Notargiacomo, who eventually became her voice and piano teacher when she was 10. She also credits her high school choral director for encouraging her to pursue a music career. In a 2003 interview Blackwell recalled, "I did not come from a musical family. I had a fourth grade teacher that introduced me to music and I sang at the Catholic church. In high school I started doing musicals-The Sound of Music, Brigadoon, Oliver!, and so forth. I thought maybe this would be what I would pursue after high school, although even in my senior year in high school I had doubts. I wanted to go into history or fashion design. But, I had a wonderful choral director who said 'no, your calling is music,' and she convinced me."
Blackwell attended Catholic University where she majored in vocal music education and also spent time in activities and classes related to the University's drama and musical theater programs. Blackwell said, "I wasn't quite sure whether I wanted to pursue classical or musical theater. I knew that whichever I chose, I wanted to have a classical training. It was important to me to have the technical expertise as well as also the theory and understanding of classical music. Catholic University was the best of both possible worlds, because they had a very strong drama department as well as a very good music department. They were next door, so I spent quite a bit of time going back and forth between the drama department and the music department." After graduating with her undergraduate degree in 1977, Blackwell taught music in two parochial schools while simultaneously continuing her vocal studies on the graduate level at Catholic University. She graduated with a Masters in Vocal Performance in 1980.
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