Anna Laura Lindsay was born in Lexington, Kentucky, November 14, 1876. she attended the Chandler Normal A.M.A School in Lexington, Kentucky, and entered Fisk University in 1893 where she completed the Normal School course in 1897 and the music course in 1898.

Miss Lindsay taught at the Knox Institute, another A.M.A school at athens, Georgia, during 1898-9 and left there to begin her work at the Normal and Collegiate Institute of Virginia. Miss Lindsay taught English, Physiology, Arithimitic, Piano and served as director of all music activities in the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute from 1899-1902. When the legislature reduced the status of the school to that of a industrial institute, she continued her work in music and when college coures were re-activated in 1922, she became head of the department of music.

In order to continue her own professional growth Miss Lindsay studied at the Virginia State College, the University of Pennsylvania and at Columbia University. She earned the degrees of Bachelor of Science (1927), the Master's of Arts (1928) from Teacher's College of Columbia University, with the special diploma in Music Education.

Miss Lindsay organized men's and women's glee clubs and the choral society at Virginia State. As head of the Department of music she was instrumental in organizing the Virginia State Music Festival patterened at first on that of the Fisk Festival's, which included school and church groups.

Miss Lindsay organized the Fisk Club at Virginia State College in the early 1900's and remained as President for a number of years. Miss Lindsay retired from Virginia State in 1947.