The Shirley Association has been a member of the Guild of One-Name Studies since 1988		Shirleys of African-American Ancestry Research Center
		African-American Shirley Lineage Page   PIANIST Don Shirley in 1954 Don Walbridge Shirley was born January 29, l927, in Kingston, Jamaica. His first teacher was his mother. Stella Gertrude Shirley Don Shirley's mother (l to r)  Calvin H. Shirley, Fr. Edwin S. Shirley,Maurice Shirley, Donald Shirley, Edwin Shirley II.   Don Shirley began playing piano at age of 2-1/2 and made his first public performance at the age of 3. At the age of nine he was invited to study theory with Mittolovski at the Leningrad Conservatory of Music, and he later studied with famous organist Conrad Bernier and studied advanced composition with both Bernier and Dr. Thaddeus Jones at Catholic University of America in Washington D. C. Visit his website at: www.donshirley.com I wrote to Don and received this response: Dear Ms Shirley, This is Michael Kappeyne, Dr. Shirley's (classical) piano student. see him every two weeks or so at my lesson, and also produced his latest CD "Home With Donald Shirley."Your note somehow fell through and didn't appear again until I was comparing received and sent messages yesterday.  He is indeed from Jamaican descent, but spent his early youth in Florida with his mother and father, a reverend, before he was shipped of to St Petersburg, Russia, for his musical training.  I'll give him your note, and he may want to call you about the Shirleys.Do you have a phone numbers at which he can reach you?  With best regards, Michael Kappeyne DonShirleyTrio@netscape.net I DIDN'T HEAR FROM HIM. I also didn't find any info in our new Jamaican Shirley book. We need his grandfather's name to get back far enough to find him in the book. Any help appreciated. Betty Shirley                                     (posted Sept 3, 2006)
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