Zelia N. Breaux
| Zelia N. Breaux | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Zelia N. Page 6 February 1880 Jefferson City, Missouri |
| Died | 31 October 1956 (aged 76) Guthrie, Oklahoma |
| Occupation | Music teacher |
| Years active | 1898–1948 |
| Known for | establishing music in African American Schools in Oklahoma |
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 Oklahoma's Langston University and the school's first orchestra. As the Supervisor of Music for the segregated African American schools in Oklahoma City, 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 and Jimmy Rushing, as well as novelist Ralph Ellison. 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 and the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame.
Zelia N. Page was born on 6 February 1880 in Jefferson City, Missouri to Inman Edward and Zelia Ball Page. 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) 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.
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.
In 1918, Breaux left Langston and accepted the position as Supervisor of Music for the segregated African American schools in Oklahoma City. 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.
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