Newport Gardner was an African American singing school

Singing school

Historically, singing schools have been strongly affiliated with Protestant Christianity. Some are held under the auspices of particular Protestant denominations that maintain a tradition of a cappella singing, such as the Church of Christ and the Primitive Baptists...

 master and composer.

Musical career

Gardner was brought into the colonies as a slave at the age of fourteen where he was sold to a Rhode Island merchant named Caleb Gardner

Caleb Gardner

Caleb Gardner, sea-captain, born in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1739: died there, 24 December 1806. Living near the harbor and owning a boat, he was in boyhood familiar with the waters and islands of Narragansett Bay, and as a young man became a sea-captain, sailing his own ship to China, to the East...

. After showing an ability for making music, Caleb Gardner's wife arranged for Newport Gardner to study with a singing master, most likely Andrew Law

Andrew Law

Andrew Law was an American composer, preacher and singing teacher. He was born in Milford, Connecticut. Law wrote mostly simple hymn tunes, and arranged tunes of other composers. His works include Select Harmony and a Collection of Best Tunes and Anthems...

. In 1791 Gardner won a lottery in which he secured enough money to buy freedom for himself and his family. Gardner rented the upstairs of a house in Newport, Rhode Island where he started his own singing school. Gardner was also a composer and started writing music at the age of eighteen possibly becoming published as early as 1803 with the song Crooked Shanks from the collection A Number of Original Airs, Duettos and Trios. He also composed Promise Anthem. Although the music has been lost, the text is still remembered and is based on passages from the Bible (Jeremiah 30:1-3, 10; Mark 7:27-28).

Other Contributions

Gardner was also a prominent member in the religious and educational communities. He served as a deacon in the First Congregational Church and as headmaster at a school for black children. Gardner also helped found the Colored Union Church, Newport's first black church, in 1824. The Congregational Church in Boston ordained him as a deacon the following year. Gardner had long desired to return to Africa as a missionary and did so early in 1826, traveling to Liberia, shortly before his death later that year.