Jeannie Pool Collection of Zenobia Powell Perry Materials, 1910-2003 | Center for Black Music Research

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Collection Overview

Title: Jeannie Pool Collection of Zenobia Powell Perry Materials, 1910-2003

ID: 6000/POOL_6012

Primary Creator: Pool, Jeannie G.

Extent: 2.0 Boxes. More info below.

Date Acquired: 00/00/2004

Abstract

Collection, 1910-2003, consisting primarily of photocopies of biographical materials, programs and some correspondence concerning Perry’s career as a composer. Also included is an oral history interview with Perry conducted by Jeannie Gayle Pool in Yellow Springs, Ohio, July 1993.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Biographical information on Zenobia Perry was collected from Perry by her biographer, Jeannie Pool, with the help of Perry’s daughter, Janis-Rozena Peri. The collection consists mainly of copies of programs for concerts on which Perry’s compositions were performed, and of press coverage on Perry. Included are materials concerning a concert series and tour to celebrate Perry’s 95^th birthday in 2003. A note on the oral history interview warns that Perry’s memory was not always accurate and that her assertions should be independently verified.

Jeannie Gayle Pool’s dissertation on Perry has been published as American Composer Zenobia Powell Perry: Race and Gender in the 20^th Century (Langham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2009).

Collection Historical Note

Zenobia Powell Perry was an American composer and educator. She was born in Boley, Oklahoma, in 1908, of Creek Indian and African-American extraction. She studied education at Tuskegee, earned a master’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado, and held several teaching jobs. Her musical education included studies with R. Nathaniel Dett at Hampton University and Darius Milhaud at the University of Wyoming, where she earned an M.M. in composition in 1954. She taught music on the faculties of Arkansas A. M. &. N. College (1947-1955) and Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio (1955-1982). Her songs and spiritual arrangements were sung in concerts by her daughter, Janis-Rozena Peri, and by soprano Sebronette Barnes, and her compositions were also performed locally at Central State University. She also participated in national conferences on women composers and black composers. She died in Xenia, Ohio, in 2004.

Biographical Note

Jeannie Pool; b. 1951, Paris, Ill.; composer, music historian, and producer

Administrative Information

Repository: Center for Black Music Research

Alternate Extent Statement: 2 boxes, 3 sound discs

Access Restrictions: None

Use Restrictions: None

Physical Access Note: Includes CDs

Acquisition Source: Pool, Jeannie G.

Related Materials: Supplemental materials, including a number of Perry

Related Publications: American Composer Zenobia Powell Perry: Race and Gender in the 20th Century

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Biographical materials, programs, and correspondence],
[Series 2: Other materials],
[All]

Series 2: Other materials

Box 2

Item 1: Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music, v. 9, no. 1 (2003) containing "Zenobia Powell Perry: An American Composer" by Jeannie Gayle Pool.
Item 2-4: Jeannie Pool interview with Zenobia Powell Perry, recorded at WYSO Radio, Yellow Springs, Ohio, July 1993. (3 compact discs)

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Biographical materials, programs, and correspondence],
[Series 2: Other materials],
[All]