07/22/2026
🎉🎉🎉 Beverly De la Bretonne
Beverly de la Bretonne’s love of music began in childhood. Her older sister played the piano so often while she was an infant that by the age of three, de la Bretonne had learned to play by ear.
“I’m sure that’s where I acquired my love for music, hearing her practice so much,” de la Bretonne said.
Her mother tried to enroll her in piano lessons in her hometown of Monroe, Louisiana, but de la Bretonne, just three at the time, was too young. She was told to return when she was seven for lessons and not to play in the meantime. She played anyway, and learned some bad playing habits that she later had to correct.
Later she learned how to play the flute and joined the high school band, but said she had always loved the violin. Her high school did not offer string programs, but during her senior year, a violin teacher moved to Monroe, and her mother saved up to buy her a violin so she could take lessons.
She went on to study traditional music and said she loved performing, which made her realize she wanted to teach.
“I just always knew that I wanted to teach. I love performing, but teaching was always the thing that I wanted to do, and I just knew that from young on,” de la Bretonne said.
De la Bretonne said that she wanted to teach because she “believes the world needs all the beautiful things in life that we can have” and wanted to offer that to others. She said she didn’t realize it at the time, but she grew up following the Suzuki method by listening to and absorbing music until she understood its language.
Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2026/07/22/beloved-amarillo-music-teacher-beverly-de-la-bretonne-celebrates-her-90th-birthday/
