Ernestine Jessie Covington Dent, 1913-1985, undated

Jessie Covington Dent’s musical career as a concert pianist spanned four decades, from the mid- twenties throughout the thirties and forties, and into the early fifties. She distinguished herself as a musician by graduating with honors from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1924. She then went on to win four consecutive fellowships from the Juilliard Musical Foundation in New York, precursor of the Juilliard School. In 1926, she was elected a charter member of the Theta chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda, a music honor society. By 1928, she opened a piano studio in her hometown of Houston, Texas and the following year became head of the Piano Department at Bishop College in Marshall. During this period, she toured extensively throughout the South and along the East Coast, playing to audiences at predominantly Black colleges and institutions, giving explanatory comments concerning the composers and compositions in her selections. Her marriage to Albert W. Dent in 1931 and the birth of her first son, Thomas C. Dent in 1932 slowed her public performances, but she continued playing until the birth of her second son, Benjamin A. Dent in 1936. She returned to the stage the next year and performed quite regularly. With the birth of her third son, Walter J. Dent in 1939, she concluded that raising a family and concert touring placed a great strain on her family. She performed sporadically over the next few years until ceasing performances entirely in the early 1950s.

Interfiled in this series are various items pertaining to Jessie C. Dent’s career as a concert pianist including a published interview, sheet music, announcements for the opening of her piano studio, programs of dates she played, a poster for one of her performances and numerous photographs, press releases and press clippings. Throughout her career, Jessie C. Dent maintained a distinctive reputation as a most gifted and rare talent.