Sudie L. Williams
Encyclopedia
Sudie Lawrence Williams was a music
educator in the public schools of Dallas, Texas
.
She was born in Bellville, Texas
to Dr. and Mrs. Otis Laurence Williams. She began teaching in the Dallas schools in 1894, became assistant supervisor of music for the schools in 1910, acting supervisor in 1913 (the year the Dallas schools acquired their first phonograph
), and supervisor in 1914.
She was awarded a bachelor of science degree by Chapel Hill College in 1915 and later studied at the University of Chicago
, Cornell University
, and the University of California
.
She was a member of the board of the Dallas Symphony Society when in 1939 the board voted to dissolve the group over her protest. She organized a mass meeting and devoted herself to the cause of a new symphony
. She succeeded and was known as the person who saved the Dallas Symphony
.
Miss Williams, who never married, died at her home at 6831 Clayton in Dallas on July 21, 1940 and was buried in Oak Cliff
Cemetery in Dallas. Her estate included a library of 525 books and pamphlets relating to music, which she gave to Southern Methodist University
.
A newspaper article soon after her death explained her importance to the community: "Miss Sudie’s great work was to educate the masses to enjoy music, leaving the performance of music to the few who felt the call. She realized from the outset that music appreciation
is merely a matter of overcoming the economic difficulty of musical presentation. She seized upon every device that might make more and more music. First it was the phonograph
and then it was the radio
with the boon of the Damrosch
hour over NBC
."
The Dallas Independent School District
opened Sudie L. Williams Elementary School in the Bluffview area of northwest Dallas in 1952.
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
educator in the public schools of Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
.
She was born in Bellville, Texas
Bellville, Texas
Bellville is a city in and the county seat of Austin County, Texas, United States, located in the southeastern part of the state. The population was 3,794 at the 2000 census. Bellville was named for Thomas Bell, one of Stephen F. Austin's earliest colonists, after he and his brother James Bell...
to Dr. and Mrs. Otis Laurence Williams. She began teaching in the Dallas schools in 1894, became assistant supervisor of music for the schools in 1910, acting supervisor in 1913 (the year the Dallas schools acquired their first phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
), and supervisor in 1914.
She was awarded a bachelor of science degree by Chapel Hill College in 1915 and later studied at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, and the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
.
She was a member of the board of the Dallas Symphony Society when in 1939 the board voted to dissolve the group over her protest. She organized a mass meeting and devoted herself to the cause of a new symphony
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
. She succeeded and was known as the person who saved the Dallas Symphony
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra. It performs its concerts in the Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States....
.
Miss Williams, who never married, died at her home at 6831 Clayton in Dallas on July 21, 1940 and was buried in Oak Cliff
Oak Cliff
Oak Cliff is a community in Dallas, Texas, United States that was formerly a separate town located in Dallas County; Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in 1903...
Cemetery in Dallas. Her estate included a library of 525 books and pamphlets relating to music, which she gave to Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
.
A newspaper article soon after her death explained her importance to the community: "Miss Sudie’s great work was to educate the masses to enjoy music, leaving the performance of music to the few who felt the call. She realized from the outset that music appreciation
Music appreciation
Music appreciation is teaching people what to listen for and to appreciate different types of music. Usually music appreciation classes involve some history lessons to explain why people of a certain era liked the music that they did...
is merely a matter of overcoming the economic difficulty of musical presentation. She seized upon every device that might make more and more music. First it was the phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
and then it was the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
with the boon of the Damrosch
Walter Johannes Damrosch
Walter Johannes Damrosch was a German-born American conductor and composer. He is best remembered today as long-time director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and for conducting the world premiere performances of George Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F , and An American in Paris .- Biography...
hour over NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
."
The Dallas Independent School District
Dallas Independent School District
The Dallas Independent School District is a school district based in Dallas, Texas . Dallas ISD, which operates schools in much of Dallas County, is the second largest school district in Texas and the twelfth largest in the United States.In 2009, the school district was rated "academically...
opened Sudie L. Williams Elementary School in the Bluffview area of northwest Dallas in 1952.