The U.S. State Department sent James DePreist to Thailand in 1962 to perform with his jazz quintet. The trip changed the trajectory of his life. It was there that he contracted polio, which left his legs paralyzed. But it was also there that, thanks to an impromptu invitation to conduct the Bangkok Symphony, DePreist had the epiphany that conducting would be his life’s work. It was, he later said, “that kind of revelatory experience that we read about and hope for.”
By then, DePreist already had an ironclad classical pedigree, said The New York Times. Born in Philadelphia, he studied with composer Vincent Persichetti, and his aunt was the contralto Marian Anderson, who stirred the nation with her 1939 performance at the Lincoln Memorial and was the first black singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera, said NPR.org. DePreist called her “simultaneously the most humble person I ever met in my life and the most powerful.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.