FROM HARLEM'S BOYS CHOIR TO
HARTT'S CONSERVATORY
March 2008, Rasdia Wilmot -
Antoine Dolberry spent his formative years as one of the performing choristers for the world famous Boys Choir of Harlem. From the time he signed on for the rigorous Boys Choir routine his commitment was unwavering. It is with that same character, coupled with the discipline and classical performance etiquette once strictly enforced by the famous choir, that Antoine now embraces all the challenges of the prestigious Hartt Conservatory, University of Hartford in Connecticut, as the only African American male in his class of opera students in the school of Vocal Performance.
He remembers his fifth grade audition for the Boys Choir of Harlem that also gained admission to its school, The Choir Academy of Harlem, as one of the high points of his life. His mother who noticed his passion for singing early on selected the school. Antoine spent seven years touring the globe as a chorister and soloist with a touring schedule that would make most adults cringe. A typical tour demanded a daily wake up call at 6:00 am for a non-stop day of homework and tutoring, rehearsal, performance and travel.
"We were in Israel for three-weeks during my sixth grade year, I remember things like wading in the Jordan and visiting the Masada and the western wall and the cave where they told us Jesus was born, but I was so young, I mainly remember just wanting to have fun and sing," Antoine shared, "I was basically living in the moment."
His passion for music was so great that the strenuous routine seemed simple. It became a way of life, producing such a tenacious will in young Antoine that now every endeavor in his life carries a spirit of excellence and steadfast commitment.
 Similarly, each time Antoine took on his audition, both for the choir and The Hartt School, his gift overshadowed his test scores. And each time, Antoine excelled in his craft and his work ethic has been impeccable. He graduated at the top of his high school class and continues throughout his college career to maintain a scholarship that demands his performance exceed a 3.0.
Like his mentor, the late Dr. Walter J. Turnbull, founder of The Boys Choir of Harlem, Antoine possesses the desire to perform opera and to pass it to others through teaching. Even now, as a college junior, he performs and teaches. He spends summers and holidays in Harlem teaching and conducting, and during the school year he spends Tuesday evenings as a volunteer teacher for the Artist Collective, a community outreach program in Hartford.
He didn't take music as a career seriously until his junior year in high school after he was given the opportunity to spend six weeks during the summer at Tanglewood at Boston University. High school students, mostly from economically advantaged homes from the northeast region, compete for seats to study inTanglewood's summer intensive program that prepares the gifted for a higher learning conservatory. Antoine made it in for both his junior and senior years of high school. That's where he realized he could earn a decent living at what he loves. He got the road map there and started on his journey.
Antoine sings every genre of music with perfection. He is mastering his craft in four languages, and is doing quite well with his piano lessons. His latest production, "Orpheus in the Underworld," produced by the undergraduate opera department, gave Antoine the opportunity to share his opera talent along with his fun-loving
personality as the jovial Mercury.
In May, Antoine will play the role of Sancho in the classic, Man of La Mancha.
Winter 2008, the undergraduate department produced "Orpheus the Underworld" where Antoine played Mercury the Messenger god.
Antoine credits Dr. Walter Turnbull and the Boys Choir of Harlem for his early training, which propeled him to the Hartt Conservatory into the masterful hands of Dr. Edward Bolkovac.
"Dr. Bolkovac is the reason I am here at Hartt," Antoine shares. He says Dr. Bolkovac pushed to get him into the university, despite his SAT scores, and then, to top it off, gave him a $20,000 scholarship.
As the Primrose Fuller Professor of Choral Music at the Hartt School and Head of its Vocal Studies Division, Dr. Bolkovac has a keen sense for recruiting great talent. During a brief telephone interview, Dr. Bolkovac explained the university's commitment to recruiting African Americans. He shared that the University of Hartford was cognizant of the fact that African American students don't get the same advantages as others at more privileged schools - so SAT scores cannot accurately measure potential. He added that Antoine was quite a songbird when he began and he has grown a great deal. They will soon meet to chart a course for Antoine's next steps.
As Antoine rapidly approaches completion of his undergraduate degree, he has already started planning for graduate studies. He looks forward to the day he will be known as, "Dr. Antoine Dolberry."
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