Many artists, musicians, actors and writers came to the Roycroft Campus both to meet Elbert Hubbard and to share their talents with the Roycroft and East Aurora community. The September 22, 1904 issue of the East Aurora Advertiser reported that the “celebrated Colored Canadian Concert Co. will give one of its popular concerts for the benefit of the Roycroft band.”
This group of African-American singers and musicians, largely from the Hamilton area of Ontario, Canada, was also known as the Canadian Jubilee Singers. Their published song books can be found online and the February 1, 2014 blog post from The Olive Tree Genealogy goes into greater detail about the group with a list of original members.
The Colored Canadian Concert Co. was first organized in 1878. They later toured Great Britain for five years and the United States for three years.
- Sue
Sources: East Aurora Historian's collection of East Aurora Advertisers and The Olive Tree Genealogy blog.
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