She was the first woman to earn a bachelor's degree in music at Howard University.

[4] She was the first woman to earn a bachelor's degree at Howard University's Conservatory of Music,[5][6] graduating in 1914.

[7][8] She attended the Chicago Musical College, where she studied piano with Alexander Raab[9][10] and Percy Grainger,[11] and from 1925 to 1927[12] pursued further studies in piano with James Friskin, on a scholarship at the Juilliard Musical Foundation.

[13][14] Cornella Lampton performed as a pianist in recitals and on radio programs,[15] and taught piano.

"[17] Cornella Lampton married composer and musician William Levi Dawson in May 1927.