Marian Anderson once performed at a concert in a small Nebraska college town. A student who was working her way through college was terribly disappointed when she could not get time off from her job at the local hotel desk to attend the concert. The great contralto was staying at the hotel, and after the concert she entered the lobby and went to the desk to see if there were any messages. The student inquired about the concert and expressed her disappointment that she had not been there. Marian Anderson stepped back, and there in the hotel lobby, unaccompanied, sang for the student Ave Maria.

Bits and Pieces, May, 1991, p. 18