Janice Harsanyi

Who was Janice Harsanyi?

Janice Harsanyi was a soprano singer and college professor.

Janice was born in Arlington, Massachusetts, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister and lived in the Hamilton Square section of Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey at an early age. Harsanyi married Nicholas Harsanyi, a violist who went to school with Béla Bartók in Hungary. Nikki founded the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra in 1979, his wife, Janice, was known as "first lady" of the TSO. Nicholas Harsanyi died in 1987.

In 1958, Harsanyi sang as soloist during the opening ceremonies for the United Nations. In 1959 she made her Carnegie Hall debut singing Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

In 1960, Harsanyi sang on Eugene Ormandy and Philadelphia Orchestra's recording of Carl Orff's majestic Carmina Burana with singer/actor Harve Presnell. This was released by Columbia/Sony on LP and CD.

In 1964, Harsanyi sang Beethoven at a peace rally in Philadelphia featuring Martin Luther King, Jr. Harsanyi also sang for Albert Einstein during a dinner party in Princeton, New Jersey and husband Nikki played chamber music with Einstein.