c.1932-1945 1
Leviticus Nelson Everell Lyon (May 29, 1894 – 1958) was a talented musician who grew up in West Oakland, and attended Cole Grammar School c.1909-1910.
Lyon was born May 29, 1894, in San Francisco, to Elizabeth Garland (Lyon) and Giraldo Gomez Lyon.
His WWI draft card from 1917 lists him working for the US Customs Service in San Francisco as an elevator conductor, and living with his mother at 966 Arlington Avenue in Oakland.
He studied in New York, then came back to Oakland to give a concert in 1925. A mention in the Tribune quotes a critic:
He is an example of the rare combination, the fundamentally musical nature and keenly perceptive intelligence, which gives him a tremendous resource from which to draw his interpretations. 2
Not much is known about his life, especially the later years.
He eventually received a fellowship to study at the Julliard School in 1925. In the course of his career, Lyon became a prominent tenor and choral director, giving performances at Carnegie Hall and St. Marks Methodist Church in Harlem, New York City. Lyon also took leadership positions in New York's music scene, assisting in the formation of the Negro Symphony Orchestra and chairing the Westchester Negro Choral Union. 1
1910 1
1909 1
Links and References
- Leviticus Lyon Papers - JWJ MSS 173 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University
- Former Oakland Man Returns In Recital Oakland Tribune August 16, 1925
- Song Recital Debut For Leviticus Lyon Oakland Enquirer April 25, 1918
- Leviticus Lyon to Give Song Recital Oakland Tribune August 27, 1925
- Harlem's Theaters: A Staging Ground for Community, Class, and Contradiction, 1923-1939 Adrienne Macki Braconi Northwestern University Press 2015
