Zelia N. Breaux
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Zelia N. Breaux (February 6, 1880 – October 31, 1956) was an American music instructor and musician who played the trumpet, violin and piano. She organized the first music department at
Langston University Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state. Though located in a rural setting east of Guthrie, Langston also serves an urban missio ...
in Oklahoma and the school's first orchestra. As the Supervisor of Music for the segregated African American schools in
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
, Breaux organized bands, choral groups and orchestras, establishing a music teacher in each school in the district. She had a wide influence on many musicians including
Charlie Christian Charles Henry Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist. Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained nati ...
and
Jimmy Rushing James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by ...
, as well as novelist
Ralph Ellison Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994) was an American writer, literary critic, and scholar best known for his novel ''Invisible Man'', which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote ''Shadow and Act'' (1964), a collecti ...
. Breaux was the first woman president of the Oklahoma Association of Negro Teachers and was posthumously inducted into the Oklahoma YWCA Hall of Fame,
Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1982 by Oklahoma Governor George Nigh "to honor Oklahoma women who are pioneers in their field or in a project that benefits Oklahoma; who have made a significant contribution to the State of Oklahoma ...
and the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame. The Oklahoma City/County Historical Society made a posthumous presentation of its Pathmaker Award to Breaux in 2017.


Biography

Zelia N. Page was born on 6 February 1880 in
Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the princip ...
to Inman Edward and
Zelia Ball Page Zelia Ball Page (1850–1937) was a freeborn African-American teacher who spent her career teaching black youths in Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Her husband was the first head of Langston University and she was the first matron. Early life Z ...
. She earned a bachelor's degree in music from the Lincoln Institute, where her father was serving as principal. When her father accepted the presidency of the Colored Agricultural and Normal University (now
Langston University Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state. Though located in a rural setting east of Guthrie, Langston also serves an urban missio ...
) on 1 May 1898, he offered her a job as a music teacher and she relocated to Oklahoma Territory. Page established the school's music department and taught piano and instrumental music. In 1902, she organized the first orchestra at Langston which began with seven musicians and two years later had grown to 23 students. She established the choral society, a glee club and the school band, requiring students to study classical music.


Marriage and family

On 6 December 1905, Page married Armogen Breaux (9 August 1870 – 9 December 1958). The couple had one son, Inman A. Breaux (4 October 1908 – 24 November 1967), who was a Professor of Education, an Administrative Dean, and Dean of Student Affairs at Langston University.


Oklahoma City years

In 1918, Breaux left Langston and accepted the position as Supervisor of Music for the segregated African American schools in
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
. She established a music teacher in each grade school in the district, organized the Oklahoma City Community Band, and headed the music department at Douglass High School. While at Douglass, she organized a twenty-four-voice chorus, an eighteen-piece symphony orchestra, and several glee clubs. At this time, it was unusual for black schools to offer music training beyond voice instruction, but Breaux believed that the discipline and instruction of classical music served as a catalyst for elevating and mastering life. Breaux believed in her independence. She lived in Oklahoma City and taught, managed the Aldridge theater and rental properties, commuting back and forth to Langston, where her husband lived. She hired a live-in cook to prepare her meals. She was a talented musician and played the trumpet, violin and piano. Breaux discouraged her students playing jazz, instructing them in
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
and music theory but she owned the only black theater in Oklahoma City and often hired blues and jazz musicians to play at her Aldridge Theater.
Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
,
Gonzelle White Gonzell White (May 19, 1897 – date of death unknown), also written Gonzelle White, was an American jazz, blues, and vaudeville performer in the United States. Biography White was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in 1897. She per ...
and
King Oliver Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 8/10, 1938) was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of Mute (music), mutes in jazz. Also a notable c ...
's bands all played there, as well as
Ida Cox Ida Cox (born Ida M. Prather, February 26, 1888 or 1896 – November 10, 1967) was an American singer and vaudeville performer, best known for her blues performances and recordings. She was billed as "The Uncrowned Queen of the Blues".Harriso ...
,
Ma Rainey Gertrude "Ma" Rainey ( Pridgett; April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939) was an American blues singer and influential early blues recording artist. Dubbed the "Mother of the Blues", she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of s ...
,
Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and ...
and
Mamie Smith Mamie Smith (née Robinson; May 26, 1891 – September 16, 1946) was an American vaudeville singer, dancer, pianist, and actress. As a vaudeville singer she performed in multiple styles, including jazz and blues. In 1920, she entered blues histor ...
. The Douglass High School band, which she organized in 1923 with twenty-five participants, was renowned throughout the United States. The students, who were both junior and senior high musicians, became minor celebrities. Through their national appearances, the band influenced a wide range of musicians including
Eubie Blake James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, he and his long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote ''Shuffle Along'', one of the first Bro ...
,
Charlie Christian Charles Henry Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist. Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained nati ...
,
Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
,
Jimmy Rushing James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by ...
,
Noble Sissle Noble Lee Sissle (July 10, 1889 – December 17, 1975) was an American jazz composer, lyricist, bandleader, singer, and playwright, best known for the Broadway musical ''Shuffle Along'' (1921), and its hit song "I'm Just Wild About Harry". Ea ...
, and Sherman Sneed.
Ralph Ellison Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994) was an American writer, literary critic, and scholar best known for his novel ''Invisible Man'', which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote ''Shadow and Act'' (1964), a collecti ...
, novelist and musician, called Breaux his "second mother". In 1932 Breaux organized the May Day celebrations, during which the Douglass band played. In 1933 the band led the
Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...
Parade at the Chicago World's Fair and they performed for a national radio broadcast while there. The Douglass band performed at the Texas Centennial Celebration in
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
in 1936 and in 1937 participated in the Black State Band Festival, which Breaux created, with seven other bands. Breaux earned a master's degree in music education from
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
in
Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...
in 1939. Her thesis was entitled, ''The development of instrumental music in Negro secondary schools and colleges''. Breaux was appointed as the first female President of the Oklahoma Association of Negro Teachers. She retired in 1948 from Douglass High School. Breaux died in
Guthrie, Oklahoma Guthrie is a city and county seat in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 10,191 at the 2010 census, a 2.7 percent increase from the figure of 9,925 in the 2000 census. First kno ...
on 31 October 1956.


Awards

In 1977, she was posthumously inducted into the YWCA Hall of Fame and in 1983, Breaux was inducted into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame. On 25 July 1991 she was entered in the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame. The Oklahoma City/County Historical Society made a posthumous presentation of its Pathmaker Award to Zelia Breaux at its luncheon on September 9, 2017.


Pupils of Zelia N. Breaux

*
Charlie Christian Charles Henry Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist. Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained nati ...
* Buddy Anderson''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' – Oklahoma Historical Society at Oklahoma State University.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breaux, Zelia N 1880 births 1956 deaths People from Jefferson City, Missouri Musicians from Oklahoma City African-American musicians Bienen School of Music alumni Langston University faculty Lincoln University (Missouri) alumni American music educators American women music educators Musicians from Missouri Educators from Missouri Educators from Oklahoma 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women educators 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American educators