Thomasina Talley Greene (1913–2003) was an African-American

concert pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz, blues, and popular music, including rock and roll. Most pianists can, to ...

and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

who opened a music studio in 1942 in

Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

. She was honored as a 1963 Missouri Woman of Achievement for her outstanding contribution to the arts, including a memorable recital at Lincoln University.

Biography

Born on 29 June 1913 in Nashville, Tennessee, Thomasina Talley was the daughter of Thomas Washington Talley (1870–1952) and Ellen Eunice née Roberts. She was the family's second child, following Sonoma Talley (born 1900), who was also a music teacher. Their interest in music was no doubt encouraged by their father, who was not only head of the chemistry department at

Fisk University Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...

but took a keen interest in American music and conducted the Fisk choir. Thomasina Talley was taught to play the piano from the age of five. She graduated from Fisk University in 1929 and went on to study piano at .

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

, receiving a diploma in 1932. After teaching for a period at the high school in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

, she moved first to Texas and then to North Carolina. In 1939, thanks to a

Rockefeller fellowship The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller ("Seni ...

, she was able her to complete her studies at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1942. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. While at Columbia, Talley fell in love with the historian

Lorenzo Greene Lorenzo Johnston Greene (1899–1988) was an American educator who taught history at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri from 1933 to 1972. His book, ''Missouri's Black Heritage'', co-authored by Antonio Holland and Gary Kremer, w ...

(1899–1988). The couple moved to Jefferson City where Thomasina opened a music studio and taught on occasion at Lincoln University. They married on 19 December 1942 and had one child, Lorenzo Thomas (born 1952). In 1969, Greene was professionally recognized as a teacher of applied music for piano in any state in the union by the Certification Board of the

Music Teachers National Association Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) is an American nonprofit professional organization for the support, growth, and development of music-teaching professionals, with more than 17,000 members in 50 states, and more than 500 affiliated loca ...

. From 1966 to 1977, she was associated with the television music station

KRCG KRCG (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Jefferson City, Missouri, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Columbia–Jefferson City market. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains studios and transmi ...

, which aired programming prepared by the Rhapsodic Junior Music Club, which Greene directed. Thomasina Talley Green died in Jefferson City on 1 June 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Thomasina Talley 1913 births 2003 deaths Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee African-American classical pianists American women classical pianists American classical pianists African-American music educators 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists American women music educators Fisk University alumni Juilliard School alumni Columbia University alumni Educators from Tennessee 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women educators African-American women musicians 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women African-American women pianists