Oregonscape

Abstract

Oregonscape Matthew Cowan Click for larger view View full resolution D’ZAMA MURIELLE poses on a train, likely in 1933 when she rode her bicycle from Oregon to attend the Century of Progress and International Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. OHS Research Library, OrHi 27 D’ZAMA MURIELLE was a Portland musician, orchestra conductor, collector of rare instruments, and according to a profile in the Oregonian on July 23, 1978, an “early day free spirit.” Murielle often referred to herself as a “vagabond” and was known for hopping freight trains, bicycling to Chicago, and leading a number of musical groups. At age twenty-five, Murielle debuted as a conductor at the Fine Arts Theatre in Boston and later led several orchestras and musical groups, including the Portland Women’s Symphony and the Rigler Community Orchestra. In an October 25, 1936, notice, the Oregonian referred to her as the youngest woman orchestra leader in the country. Murielle taught music for many years in Portland Public Schools and held performances and educational programs during her career. An October 11, 1962, profile in the Oregonian, noted that when not hiking “she loads her collection of African drums in to a ‘53 car and takes off for her lecture dates.” Two years later, she premiered a concert and slide show titled the “Musical Vagabond,” aimed at telling the story of music from “primitive to modern times.” Murielle passed away on June 3, 1985, at age of eighty-four in her northeast Portland home. [End Page 112] Matthew Cowan OHS Moving Images and Photography Archivist Copyright © 2023 Oregon Historical Society