Mavynee betsch biography of martin

She was an African-American opera singer who thrilled European audiences in the 1950s.  But to most in her adopted home on Amelia Island, Florida, she was just the “Beach Lady.”  The lives of music lovers and environmentalists all benefitted from her untiring passion and persistence.

MaVynee Oshun Betsch was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on January 13, 1935.  Her family was part of the African-American elite of Jacksonville.

 Her great-grandfather was Abraham Lincoln Lewis, owner of the Afro American Insurance Company, which he founded in 1901.  Lewis was one of the successful businessmen who built the African-American community of Jacksonville, a parallel universe required by the Jim Crow laws that mandated segregation in many southern states.

Coming from a wealthy and cultured family, Betsch had the opportunity to study music at Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio.  After graduating in 1955 with majors in voice and piano, she moved to Europe