Henry Thacker Burleigh was an American composer, arranger and concert singer born in Brocton, New York in 1866 who began his career in the late 19th century, working in classical and art-song repertoires while specialising in arrangements of African American spirituals. He adapted spirituals into art-song and concert settings that blended classical technique with vernacular material, helping to introduce these songs into mainstream concert programmes and informing discussions about American musical identity in the early 20th century.
