Denyce Graves rose from modest origins to become one of the finest mezzo-sopranos in the world. She was born in a rough area of southwest Washington, D.C. Her father left her family when Graves was one year old, and her mother struggled to support the family through most of her childhood. Gravesearly musical education was limited to singing gospel in her church s choir. When a few of Gravesjunior high school teachers encouraged her to attend the Duke Ellington School for the Arts, one of Washington s most prestigious public schools, she decided to go even though she had no particular interest in music. The interest, needless to say, developed; at the Ellington School, she studied French melodies, German lieder, and jazz in addition to the operatic arias which would eventually make her famous. The Ellington School s program was a strong one, and by graduation Graves had developed her gift enough that Oberlin College in Ohio granted her a scholarship.