In 1941 and 1944, she made her national and international debuts as a singer, receiving critical acclaim for her performances of both classical European music and African-American spirituals.

When vocal difficulties and cancer eventually contributed to her retirement in 1952, White settled in Toronto and subsequently taught young Canadian musicians such as Lorne Greene, Dinah Christie, Don Francks, Robert Goulet and Anne Marie Moss.

[8]: 269 As a teenager, White entered a local singing competition with her sister June, the pair performing an aria from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

From the early 1930s she taught in Africville and Lucasville, two small Halifax communities that were predominately Black Nova Scotian, and during this time White was finally able to begin paying for vocal lessons.

[9] She won awards at provincial music festivals,[7] and in mid-1941 she met Edith Read, a visiting headmistress from Branksome Hall in Toronto, who offered to arrange new performing opportunities for White.

[10] White sang both classical European music and African-American spirituals,[9] and works by Harry T. Burleigh were a constant part of her concert repertoire.

[8] Alongside English pieces, she performed music in Italian, German, French and Spanish,[8] and White's three-octave range attracted critical acclaim.

[2][13] Vocal problems, an exhausting itinerary,[9] and an eventual diagnosis of breast cancer[6] later contributed to White's early retirement from public singing in 1952, and she settled in Toronto, where she studied with sopranos Gina Cigna and Irene Jessner at the Royal Conservatory of Music.

[2] She went on to teach some of Canada's up-and-coming musical talent,[9] and her students included singers Lorne Greene, Dinah Christie, Don Francks, Robert Goulet,[5] Anne Marie Moss[14] and Judith Lander.

[8] White appeared in Halifax for a few rare performances during the 50s; although she announced her intention to resume a full-time singing career, her return to the concert circuit never fully materialized.

[2] White has been declared a person of national historic significance by the Government of Canada,[18] and she was featured in a special issue of Millennium postage stamps celebrating Canadian achievement.

[26] A portrait of White by Hedley Rainnie is on permanent display at Government House, Nova Scotia in honour of her contributions to the arts.