Stone, Theodore Charles (1912-1998) | Center for Black Music Research
Name: Stone, Theodore Charles (1912-1998)
Historical Note: Theodore Charles Stone (1912-1998) was a Chicago-based performer and journalist who worked with the National Association of Negro Musicians and Chicago Music Association to provide opportunities for African American musicians to perform. Stone was born on November 18, 1912 in Gainsville, Texas, and attended Samuel Huston College in Houston, Texas, before relocating to Chicago to attend the Chicago Musical College. Stone was awarded a scholarship to the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, and as the first African American to study there, he earned a certificate in Performing Arts and Opera, Concert Repertoire. Stone spent much of the 1940s and 1950s giving recitals across the United States before beginning a career as a music journalist. He wrote for the Chicago Bee, the Pittsburg Courier, the Chicago Defender, the Metropolitan Post, and the Chicago Crusader. Stone served as president of the Chicago Music Association, the first branch of the NANM, from 1954-1996.