Birdie Alexander (March 24, 1870 – August 2, 1960) was an American educator and music teacher. She was a charter member of the Music Supervisors' National Conference. Alexander is credited with laying the foundations of music education in the

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

public schools.

Biography

Alexander was born on March 24, 1870, in

Lincoln County, Tennessee Lincoln County is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,319. Its county seat and largest city is Fayetteville. The county is named for Major General Benjamin L ...

. Later, she and her family moved to Texas and she attended school in

Forney, Texas Forney is a city in Kaufman County, Texas, United States, and has been named by the Texas Legislature as the "Antique Capital of Texas". It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The population was 23,455 at the 2020 census. Geography F ...

and also at Mary Nash College. She returned to Tennessee to study piano and voice at Ward Seminary, graduating in 1891. When she graduated, she and her family moved to

. Alexander became the Dallas Public School's music supervisor and worked there for twelve years during which she established a "first rate system of music education." She organized special concerts for students with conductor

Walter Fried Walter Julius Fried (August 18, 1877 – August 18, 1925) was an American violinist and conductor. He served as both music director and as concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra between 1911 and 1925 and was also one of Dallas's leading v ...

. Alexander was a charter member of the Music Supervisors' National Conference, founded in 1907. When officials cut back on music programs, Alexander created her own music

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions, but also of learners ( ...

, published in 1912, called ''Songs We Like to Sing''. Alexander was also instrumental in bringing a

victrola The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

to play music for her students. She was also invited to lecture on music education at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

. Alexander moved to

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

for health reasons in 1913 after contracting

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Her brother-in-law, Robert B. Homan, Sr., was a physician and ran a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

in El Paso called Homan's San. Alexander stayed at the sanatorium for four years where she worked in the office and didn't feel that she would be able to go back to teaching music. Eventually, Alexander began to give piano lessons for her niece and word began to spread and soon Alexander had many students. There were times when she had more students than she could teach and in those situations, she would refer them to other teachers. Alexander was made an honorary life member of the National Music Teachers' Association of Texas in 1941. Formerly, she had served as president of the organization. In addition, she put together the music department for the Texas State Teachers Association.

Death and legacy

Alexander died in her home in

on August 2, 1960. She was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in El Paso. An

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

named after Alexander was dedicated in

in March 1970.

References

External links

*
Songs We Like to Sing
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Birdie 1870 births 1960 deaths American women educators People from Lincoln County, Tennessee People from Dallas Educators from El Paso, Texas American women pianists Ward–Belmont College alumni Educators from Texas Educators from Tennessee