Nina Simone Essay -- Eunice Kathleen Waymon

Eunice Kathleen Waymon born February 21, 1933. She was the sixth of eight children born to John - an entertainer turned family man - and Mary Kate - who became a church minister - a poor southern black family that lived in Tryon, North Carolina. Her father played piano, guitar, and harmonica; her mother played piano and sang. Her brothers and sisters all played piano and sang in the church choir, gospel groups, glee clubs and social events. She started learning music the natural way by watching her family. The Waymon’s owned a pedal organ, and by the time Eunice was tall enough to climb on the stool and sit on the keyboard, she had musical talent. She was a child prodigy. By the age of 6, Eunice would play piano in church and other events where her mother preached. Her mother also worked as a housekeeper for a white lady, Mrs. Miller. She heard Eunice playing for a choir and insisted that she had to have proper piano lessons. Since her family could not afford lessons, Mrs. Miller would pay for Eunice to have piano lessons for a year and if she showed promise they would have to figure out a way to continue the lessons. Her tutor, an English woman Mrs. Muriel Massinovitch, introduced her to Bach. Once she understood Bach’s music, she wanted to dedicate her life to music. As a child, her biggest dream was to be a concert pianist. After a year of lessons, Eunice showed amazing potential. Since Mrs. Miller could not continue to pay for her lessons, Mrs. Massinovitch created the Eunice Waymon Fund and raised money by getting the town of Tryon involved with regular recitals to showcase Eunice’s talent. After graduating high school, Eunice got a scholarship to attend Julliard in New York for one year. After a year in ... ...lina. After high school, she attended Juilliard School of Music for one year. She studied with Vladimir Sokhaloff, Married twice and had one daughter, Lisa Celeste Stroud (AKA Simone Kelly) who followed in her mother’s musical steps. In her later years, she became a world wanderer and preferred Europe to America. Her concerts were wide ranged from Philadelphia, Atlantic City, New York – including Carnegie Hall and Apollo Theatre, Chicago, and Alabama – during the racial raids; to Nigeria, Canada, London, France, Germany and Holland. She toured with Bill Cosby during the late 1960s and Richard Pryor opened for her shows when he was first starting out. The Nina Simone estate has created the Eunice Waymon-Nina Simone memorial project to support both the short- and long-term educational goals of individuals on career paths who need economic assistance. Nina Simone Essay -- Eunice Kathleen Waymon Eunice Kathleen Waymon born February 21, 1933. She was the sixth of eight children born to John - an entertainer turned family man - and Mary Kate - who became a church minister - a poor southern black family that lived in Tryon, North Carolina. Her father played piano, guitar, and harmonica; her mother played piano and sang. Her brothers and sisters all played piano and sang in the church choir, gospel groups, glee clubs and social events. She started learning music the natural way by watching her family. The Waymon’s owned a pedal organ, and by the time Eunice was tall enough to climb on the stool and sit on the keyboard, she had musical talent. She was a child prodigy. By the age of 6, Eunice would play piano in church and other events where her mother preached. Her mother also worked as a housekeeper for a white lady, Mrs. Miller. She heard Eunice playing for a choir and insisted that she had to have proper piano lessons. Since her family could not afford lessons, Mrs. Miller would pay for Eunice to have piano lessons for a year and if she showed promise they would have to figure out a way to continue the lessons. Her tutor, an English woman Mrs. Muriel Massinovitch, introduced her to Bach. Once she understood Bach’s music, she wanted to dedicate her life to music. As a child, her biggest dream was to be a concert pianist. After a year of lessons, Eunice showed amazing potential. Since Mrs. Miller could not continue to pay for her lessons, Mrs. Massinovitch created the Eunice Waymon Fund and raised money by getting the town of Tryon involved with regular recitals to showcase Eunice’s talent. After graduating high school, Eunice got a scholarship to attend Julliard in New York for one year. After a year in ... ...lina. After high school, she attended Juilliard School of Music for one year. She studied with Vladimir Sokhaloff, Married twice and had one daughter, Lisa Celeste Stroud (AKA Simone Kelly) who followed in her mother’s musical steps. In her later years, she became a world wanderer and preferred Europe to America. Her concerts were wide ranged from Philadelphia, Atlantic City, New York – including Carnegie Hall and Apollo Theatre, Chicago, and Alabama – during the racial raids; to Nigeria, Canada, London, France, Germany and Holland. She toured with Bill Cosby during the late 1960s and Richard Pryor opened for her shows when he was first starting out. The Nina Simone estate has created the Eunice Waymon-Nina Simone memorial project to support both the short- and long-term educational goals of individuals on career paths who need economic assistance.