Brown, Thelma Waide
(born: 1897 - died: 1975)Thelma Waide Brown was born in Ashland, KY. She toured as a concert and opera singer and was a music and voice instructor for more than 25 years in the Chicago Musical College at Roosevelt College [now Roosevelt University]. She was considered one of the most respected concert singers and teachers in the Chicago area and was sought out for private lessons.
Brown lived in Indianapolis, IN, prior to living in Chicago. She was recognized with awards from the National Association of Business Women and the National Association of Negro Musicians.
For more see African American Concert Singers Before 1950, by D. G. Nettles; "Former dramatic soprano to sing at Bethel Church," Indianapolis Recorder, 5/18/1935, p. 7; Thelma Waide Brown on p. 344 in The Black Perspective in Music, vol. 4, no.3, 1973; and "Obituaries" in The Black Perspective in Music, vol. 4, issue 3 (Autumn, 1976), p. 344.