Zenobia Powell Perry
Encyclopedia
Zenobia Powell Perry was an American composer
born in Boley, Oklahoma
who spent much of her life in Dayton, Ohio
. She attended and taught in a number of historically black colleges and universities
. http://www.iawm.org/articles_html/pool_zp_perry.html
. In 1925 she graduated from Boley High School and went on to study
at Cecil Berryman Conservatory, Tuskegee Institute and Hampton Institute.
. Two years later, she taught at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
. She then completed her Masters in Music in composition at Wyoming University. Piano and composition with Alan Willman and composition with Darius Milhaud
.
and Darius Milhaud
Her most important honors include:
Awards from Ohio institutions for her life achievements and contributions to Ohio culture.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
born in Boley, Oklahoma
Boley, Oklahoma
Boley is a town in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,126 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1903.The Boley Public School District is one of the smallest public school districts in the state of Oklahoma. For the most recent data available, it tied with Sweetwater for...
who spent much of her life in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
. She attended and taught in a number of historically black colleges and universities
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
. http://www.iawm.org/articles_html/pool_zp_perry.html
Early life and education
Zenobia Powell was born on October 3, 1908 to Physician Dr. Calvin B. Powell and Birdie Thompson Powell (who had some Creek Indian heritage) in the then Negro town of Boley, OklahomaBoley, Oklahoma
Boley is a town in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,126 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1903.The Boley Public School District is one of the smallest public school districts in the state of Oklahoma. For the most recent data available, it tied with Sweetwater for...
. In 1925 she graduated from Boley High School and went on to study
at Cecil Berryman Conservatory, Tuskegee Institute and Hampton Institute.
Career
From 1941—1945 Perry taught at the Colorado State Teachers CollegeUniversity of Northern Colorado
-Organization:The University of Northern Colorado offers 100 undergraduate programs and more than 100 graduate programs. The university has a satellite campus in Denver, Colorado...
. Two years later, she taught at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a historically black university located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1873, it is the oldest HBCU and the second oldest public institution in the state of Arkansas . UAPB is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
. She then completed her Masters in Music in composition at Wyoming University. Piano and composition with Alan Willman and composition with Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
.
Personal life
In 1932 she was married to violinist "King" Earl Gaynor. They had a son, Lemuel, who died in 1944, and they later divorced in 1933. In 1941 she married Jimmie Rogers Perry and they had a daughter Janis in 1943. In 1989 she would be diagnosed and treated for breast cancer, her health would continue to deteriorate until her death.Honors
She studied with Robert Nathaniel DettRobert Nathaniel Dett
Robert Nathaniel Dett , often known as R. Nathaniel Dett, was a composer in the United States and Canada...
and Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
Her most important honors include:
- 1998 University of WyomingUniversity of WyomingThe University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
Arts and Sciences Outstanding Alumni Award.
- 1999 Woman of the Year Award, Paul Laurence DunbarPaul Laurence DunbarPaul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal African American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 "Ode to Ethiopia", one poem in the collection Lyrics of Lowly Life....
House State Memorial, Dayton, Ohio.
- 2002 Member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
- 2003 Elizabeth Mathias Award from the Mu Phi EpsilonMu Phi EpsilonMu Phi Epsilon is a co-ed international professional music fraternity and honor society. It boasts over 75,000 members in 128 collegiate chapters and 74 alumni chapters in the US and abroad.-History:...
fraternity of professional musicians.
Awards from Ohio institutions for her life achievements and contributions to Ohio culture.
- 1987 Honored with a Music Citation for distinguished service to Ohio in the field of music at the Ohioans Library Association.
- 1988 Honored by Ohio National Organization of Women at the NOW Banquet in Columbus, as a part of their second annual women's history celebration.
- 1991 Inducted into the Greene County [Ohio] Women's Hall of Fame
- 1993 Inducted in Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame
- 1998 Named as one of Top Ten women for 1998 by Dayton Daily News.
- 1999 Woman of the Year Award, Paul Laurence Dunbar House State Memorial, Dayton, Ohio.
- 2000 Named 2000 Outstanding Senior Citizen of Green County, Ohio.
- 2002 Cultural Arts Award for outstanding contributions in the field of Music Education, National Afro-American Museum, Wilberforce, Ohio.
Academic and Education
- 1955—1982 Faculty of Central State University in WilberforceWilberforce UniversityWilberforce University is a private, coed, liberal arts historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, it was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans...
, Ohio. (1985 Appointed Faculty Emerita)
- 1957 Participant, Aspen Conference on Contemporary Music.
- 1981 Participated at First National Congress on Women in Music at New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, where Janis-Rozena Peri sang Five Songs on Texts by Dayton, OhioDayton, OhioDayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
poet Paul Laurence DunbarPaul Laurence DunbarPaul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal African American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 "Ode to Ethiopia", one poem in the collection Lyrics of Lowly Life....
. - 1986 Guest Composer at Dana New Music Festival at Youngstown State University, Ohio. Her compositions were performed with conductor Dr. Jo Ann Lanier (now called Lanyé, whose doctoral dissertation at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, Illinois, was "The Concert Songs of Zenobia Powell Perry."
Performances
- August 22, 1915— She met Booker T. Washington who spoke at a city park in Boley. She sang the Tuskegee anthem for him and he declared she was a future Tuskegegian.
- 1919— Won piano competition, at age 11
- July 12, 1939— Performed movement of Grieg Piano Concerto at Langston University.
- 1949-1955— Toured in piano duo with Kelton Lawrence to recruit students for Arkansas A.M. & N.
- April 19, 1955— Performance of Symphonic Poem by Zenobia Perry on Founder's Day program at Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, by the College Band, Harold S. Strong, conductor, Caldwell Hall Auditorium.
- September 29, 1963— Honored at San Francisco Concert along with Darius Milhaud and Dave Brubeck; performances by Emme Kemp Trio and pianist William Hollis.
- June 1, 1970— New York premiere of Heritage and Life, A Cycle of Songs, Lincoln Center, at the Library and Museum of the Performing Arts. Janis-Rozena Peri, soprano and Judith Gels, piano.
- October 25, 1974— Performance on Canada Council Arts Festival Concert at the University of Victoria in British Columbia of Choral Suite No. 1 for tape sounds, percussion, piano and mixed chorus.
- May 22, 1977— Premiere of The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh at Carnegie Recital Hall, Janis-Rozena Peri, soprano; favorably reviewed in the New York Times.
- March 8, 1980— Three Designs for Four Strings (1964) was read at the Conference/Workshop on Twentieth Century String Quartets by Women Composers, New York City.
- May, 1987— Premiere of opera Tawawa House, Central State University.
- February 20, 21, 1987— Works performed at "Symposium in Celebration of Black American Women in Music," California State University, Northridge
- May 15, 1988— Four Mynyms for Three Players was presented at concert of Music of Black American Composers at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution, Hall of Musical Instruments, Washington, D.C.
- January 31, 1989— Performance of Ships That Pass in the Night, premiered at West Virginia University, on graduate recital of James L. Tully.
- February 17, 1991— Premiere of Echoes from the Journey with Cleveland Chamber Symphony, conudcted by Edwin London with soloist Jo Ann Lanyé.
- April 13, 1993— Concert at West Virginia State University including Tempo for Wind Symphony and Soprano and Ships That Pass in the Night, Don Wilcox conductor; Narrator Larry Christianson.
- March 14, 1999— Performance of Echoes from the Journey by Leberta Clark, mezzo soprano, The Afro-American Chamber Music Society Orchestra, conducted by Dwayne E. Smith, at Holman United Methodist Church, Los Angeles, California.