We were saddened to hear of the passing of the tenor, Robert White. He was a great friend to the Society. His lifelong devotion to the music of John McCormack kept that great tradition alive for new generations of listeners on both sides of the Atlantic.
Robert was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, though his Irish roots ran deep. His mother was from Galway and his father’s family from Kerry. It was his father, Joseph White, known to radio audiences as NBC’s Silver-Masked Tenor, who first coached the young Robert in the John McCormack repertory, beginning when the boy was just nine years old. By the age of six he was already performing on radio, quickly earning the nickname “the little John McCormack.”
Robert went on to study at the Juilliard School, where he received his Master’s degree in voice, and later studied with the legendary Nadia Boulanger at Fontainebleau. His classical career was distinguished. He performed with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, sang at the White House, and premiered operas under the direction of Paul Hindemith himself. Yet throughout all of this, he never strayed far from his first love.
The story of his return to Irish song is a charming one. After singing at a Schubert Mass in the mid 1970’s, Robert found himself seated beside the great arts patroness Alice Tully, who lamented that nobody could sing John McCormack’s songs anymore. When she named “Mavis” as her favourite, White sang it on the spot, and she was moved to tears. That moment set him on a path. He and his accompanist Samuel Sanders went on to record the RCA Red Seal album When You and I Were Young, Maggie, which relaunched him internationally as an Irish tenor.
His connection to the McCormack legacy was beautifully personal as well as musical. At one of Cardinal Spellman’s Christmas parties, White found himself seated beside Mrs. John McCormack herself, and her son Cyril Count McCormack later presented Robert with a silver cup, roses, and an Irish harp in recognition of his contribution to Irish song.
In 1984, when the BBC prepared its centenary tribute to John McCormack, it was Robert they chose to tell the story of McCormack’s career and to sing his most celebrated arias, ballads, and Irish songs. The following year he performed three concerts in McCormack’s honour at Alice Tully Hall in New York, and in 1983 had undertaken a sell-out tour of 23 concerts throughout Ireland under the title “I Hear You Calling Me – Robert White Remembers John McCormack.”
Robert carried McCormack’s spirit with integrity, warmth, and exceptional artistry, ensuring that the songs of Ireland continued to reach hearts long after the great man himself had departed. The John McCormack Society mourns his passing and salutes a life beautifully lived in service to the music we all hold dear.
John McCormack Society 