February 2022 Composer of the Month – Florence Price

One of the main purposes of our Composer of the Month initiative is to provide excellent opportunities for whole-community engagement and musical enlightenment around each month’s composer. Another reason is to lift and honor the work of music composers who have been previously excluded from the Western classical canon because of their gender, race, or both.

In honor of Black History Month, the California Conservatory of Music is celebrating the achievements and enduring legacy of Florence Price.

Florence Price’s Personal Life

Florence Beatrice Price was an American classical composer, organist, pianist, and music teacher. She was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1887, where she took piano lessons and received a music education from her mother. This was because all the white music teachers in the area refused to take her on as a student.

Price lived in Little Rock, Arkansas until she left home in order to attend the New England Conservatory. It was one of the handfuls of conservatories that admitted African-American and Black students at the time.

It is worth noting that after graduation, Price returned to Little Rock, Arkansas, where she formally taught music and got married. She raised a family until the increasing dangers posed by racism and discrimination spurred Price and her family to move to Chicago.

Did you know that Florence Price is most well-known as the first Black woman to have her musical work performed by a notable American orchestra?

Life as a Composer

Impressively, Price composed more than 300 works. These works include symphonies, songs, and chamber works noted for their enchanting lyricism and lush orchestration. When she was 14, Price graduated as a high school valedictorian. Note that after two years, in 1903, she left Little Rock in order to attend the New England Conservatory of Music.

Keep in mind that in only 3 years at the conservatory, Price managed to gain a soloist’s diploma in organ as well as a teacher’s diploma in piano. Also, the principal, George Chadwick, encouraged and persuaded Price to compose, which turned out to be important and life-changing advice. Did you know that she took lessons in counterpoint and composition with famous composer Benjamin Cutter in her spare time?

In 1928, in order to escape growing racial discrimination and oppression in Little Rock, Arkansas, Price, and her family moved to Chicago. In Chicago, Price flourished creatively and won prizes as well as multiple publication contracts for her impressive piano pieces.

She also penned many popular songs for radio commercials and even arranged spirituals for performances. She then started writing symphonies in 1931.

Note that Price joined the famous R Nathaniel Dett Club of Music and the Allied Arts in order to make friendships with like-minded artists and musicians. She continued her composition studies at notable institutions, like the American Conservatory of Music, the University of Chicago, the Chicago Teachers College, and the Chicago Musical College.

Price’s career as a music composer catapulted to new heights after she moved to Chicago. In Chicago, she had developed several contacts while taking various summer courses and lessons at the Chicago Musical College.

Keep in mind that with the added support of some leading figures, especially within the Chicago Black Renaissance, such as Estelle Bonds, whose home was the principal gathering place for musicians and artists, Price’s works won many contests designed to support and help black composers.

The success of Price’s E Minor symphony helped cement her reputation and status, and many of her orchestral works were later performed by prominent ensembles. This is why students taking music lessons at the California Conservatory of Music are inspired by her work. To this day, Price’s compositions are an important part of Redwood City Music Lessons and Sunnyvale music lessons .

Some Notable Facts

• It was her move to Chicago that considerably expanded the music options available to Florence Price as a composer.
• Price studied with George Chadwick at the New England Conservatory.
• She wrote radio jingles and many popular songs besides her more serious compositions.
• Price was the only one of about 2,000 students to pursue a double-major in piano and organ.
• Price remained active and influential as a composer and music teacher until her death on June 9, 1953.