Page "Music of Maryland" Paragraph 21

While the largely white middle-and upper-class Baltimoreans supported the orchestras and other societies, the city's African Americans formed their own Coloured Symphony Orchestra in 1931, which was municipally supported just like the BSO ; the first performance included Ellis Larkins and Anne Brown, the latter known for creating the role of Bess in Porgy and Bess.

At the time, Pennsylvania Avenue ( often known simply as The Avenue ) was the major scene for Baltimore's black musicians, and was an early home for Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, among others.