Loretta Cessor Manggrum

Loretta Cessor Manggrum (July 28, 1896 – May 11, 1992), also known as L.C. Manggrum, was an American pianist, music educator, and composer of sacred music. In particular, she is known for her cantatas and other choral works. Some of her archives, including, manuscripts, scores, and correspondence, is in the Library of Congress and in the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University.

Early life Loretta Cessor was born in Gallipolis, Ohio, to John Cessor and Lillian Jane Fitch. Cessor's great-great-grandmother was enslaved, and Cessor herself came from a mixed line of African and Irish ancestry. She later remembered, "It's true that some in both my husband's family and mine ‘crossed over’ to live as whites in their communities. ... My great-great-great-grandmother on my mother's side bore three children by an Irishman. My great-grandmother also had three sons by her white master."

She became engaged to William Langston Manggrum at age 16, but postponed the wedding when Cessor's mother fell ill. Cessor dropped out of high school to care for her mother.

Manggrum then became the first African American to enroll at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and the first to earn a degree there, graduating in 1953 at the age of 57 with a master of music.

In addition to her composition work, she spent a decade teaching music for Cincinnati Public Schools. She also served as choir director and organist for various Cincinnati churches, including Union Baptist Church, Brown Chapel AME, and Gaines United Methodist Church.

In the 1980s, she was invited to give her works to the Library of Congress, where the Loretta Manggrum Collection "documents the career of this African American woman, who balanced family, education, and a music career at a time when the nation's social climate seriously impeded the ability of African American women to achieve the kind of success and recognition that Manggrum earned."

In 2010, Eric Oliver founded the Loretta C. Manggrum Chorale in Cincinnati, to honor his mentor and ensure that the music of Manggrum and other African American composers continues to be performed.