August 11, 2011

Rosalie Alexander

Rosalie Alexander was born in Dallas in 1938, an only child in a family that had already settled in the city. Her grandfather came from abroad, and her mother was the youngest among several brothers. Rosalie grew up in East Dallas and attended public school there. Music captured her interest at a young age; she began playing piano when she was almost eight and later took up singing, with lessons beginning around age fourteen. She attended Woodrow Wilson High School and continued her piano and singing throughout those years.

After high school, Rosalie enrolled at Southern Methodist University to study music. Although she was primarily interested in piano, she eventually shifted her focus to voice, studying with a teacher who had performed at the Metropolitan Opera. Following graduation, she moved to New York to pursue voice study more seriously, working chiefly with private instructors rather than through a school. She enjoyed singing Mozart roles and concert repertoire such as arias, and she became a soloist at a temple in New York, a position she held for about nine years.

When her parents became ill, Rosalie returned to Dallas, where she taught voice privately. She enjoyed teaching but always preferred performing. Her family belonged to Temple Emanu-El, where they attended services, celebrated holidays, and took part in musical programs and the choir. After returning home, Rosalie rejoined the temple choir, singing oratorios such as Judas Maccabaeus. She married her husband after a courtship of several years, in a ceremony at the temple chapel. Over her lifetime she watched Dallas grow from a small city into a major one, with a flourishing Jewish community and arts scene that she embraced, attending concerts regularly.

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