--- title: Yma Sumac: What It Was Like to Hear Her Sing in Concert description: Tuesday marks what would have been the 94th birthday of the Peruvian singer Yma Sumac. In 1950, her remarkable voice caused an uproar. canonical: https://time.com/4489454/yma-sumac-peruvian-songbirg-concert/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-13T16:03:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:33:52.876Z article:section: History og:title: This Is What It Was Like to Hear Yma Sumac Sing in Concert og:description: The Peruvian singer was known for a vocal range that spanned at least four octaves og:url: https://time.com/4489454/yma-sumac-peruvian-songbirg-concert/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8cf1016fc655cd9f/6988a5c30a4a22f0fd9cb3ca/yma-sumac-concert.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Yma Sumac og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is What It Was Like to Hear Yma Sumac Sing in Concert twitter:description: The Peruvian singer was known for a vocal range that spanned at least four octaves twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8cf1016fc655cd9f/6988a5c30a4a22f0fd9cb3ca/yma-sumac-concert.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is What It Was Like to Hear Yma Sumac Sing in Concert by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Sep 13, 2016 4:03 PM UTC  Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac (1922 - 2008) performs at the Royal Albert Hall in London, 1952. Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac (1922 - 2008) performs at the Royal Albert Hall in London, 1952.George Douglas—Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Sep 13, 2016 4:03 PM UTC Tuesday marks what would have been the 94th birthday of the Peruvian singer known as [Yma Sumac](http://time.com/4488964/googles-new-doodle-celebrates-yma-sumac-the-peruvian-songbird/), who was born Sept. 13, 1922, and became known worldwide for a vocal range that spanned at least four octaves. In August of 1950, Sumac performed for an audience of 6,000 at the Hollywood Bowl. Her [trilling soprano voice](http://time.com/vault/issue/1987-03-02/page/64/)—which earned her the nickname ‘Peruvian Songbird’—surprised and thrilled the crowd, previously unfamiliar with her range, according to a [TIME review of the concert](http://time.com/vault/issue/1950-08-28/page/60/): --- > “” --- [_Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter_](http://time.com/newsletter) The audience’s gusto was tempered only by guest conductor Arthur Fielder, who—running late for another engagement—directed the orchestra into Tchaikovsky’s _Marche Slav_ to end the evening, cutting short the applause. After that night, Sumac’s career vaulted to an entirely new level, according to the concert review. --- > “” --- Sumac, who died in 2008 in Los Angeles at the age of 86, [wowed crowds for decades](http://time.com/vault/issue/1987-03-02/page/64/), and performed well into the 1980s. **_Read the full review from 1950, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Daughter of the Sun God](http://time.com/vault/issue/1950-08-28/page/60/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4489454/yma-sumac-peruvian-songbirg-concert/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4489454/yma-sumac-peruvian-songbirg-concert/"},"headline":"This Is What It Was Like to Hear Yma Sumac Sing in Concert","datePublished":"2016-09-13T16:03:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:33:52.876Z","description":"The Peruvian singer was known for a vocal range that spanned at least four octaves","url":"https://time.com/4489454/yma-sumac-peruvian-songbirg-concert/","keywords":["Music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8cf1016fc655cd9f/6988a5c30a4a22f0fd9cb3ca/yma-sumac-concert.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8cf1016fc655cd9f/6988a5c30a4a22f0fd9cb3ca/yma-sumac-concert.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Yma Sumac","caption":"Yma Sumac","creditText":"George Douglas—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4489454/yma-sumac-peruvian-songbirg-concert/","name":"This Is What It Was Like to Hear Yma Sumac Sing in Concert"}}]}] ```