It was then that Harry’s mother told him of the music in homes where she sometimes was employed and one evening, when a boy was needed at a party to open the door for guests, she secured the place for Harry, and there was no happier boy in all America that night than Harry Burleigh. He continued to attend school through the day and he worked at nights. There was scarcely anything he did not do during those years when he and his mother battled against poverty. When he was sixteen he sang in church choirs on Sundays, and in a Jewish synagogue on Saturdays, and soon his fine voice made him known to musical people. But all the money he could earn was needed at home and he so much wanted to get a musical education. He heard that the National Conservatory of Music in New York City offered scholarships for young people whose voices gave promise and he determined to try for one. He had to sing before several distinguished musicians and he was a very nervous and worried lad that day, but he did his best, and after some hesitation the judges granted him a scholarship, and at last he began to study music in earnest. Dvořák, the great Bohemian composer, was one of the directors of the Conservatory and he was at once attracted to the negro boy. Harry sang for him many old negro melodies and Dvořák was greatly pleased. For four years Harry Burleigh studied hard every day. He knew that he had a great privilege in being at the Conservatory and he made the most of it. But always there was the struggle for daily bread. His scholarship simply meant that he obtained free tuition. He still had to provide for himself and his mother, and so there was a never ceasing search for jobs that the home might be kept going. His mother was firm in her belief that Harry would be a great singer and she helped in every possible way. For several years in the summer time he worked on the big lake steamers, and then one year he secured a position in a Saratoga hotel. While he was there he sang in an Episcopal church and he was told that the position of baritone soloist at St. George’s Episcopal Church in New York City was vacant and he determined to apply for the position. This is one of the largest churches in New York and Harry found that there were no less than sixty applicants, all eager to secure the place, and he was the only coloured person applying. In spite of the severe handicaps he had to face his wonderful full, rich voice overcame all prejudice. He was selected for the place and for more than thirty years he has filled the position and always given great satisfaction.