Concert Oct. 24 will feature symphony by Florence Beatrice Price

Connie Shakalis – Special to the H-T

Florence Beatrice Price, known for being the first Black female composer to be nationally recognized, will be honored Oct. 24 by the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra.

The group will present Wade in the Water at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, where a selection of Price’s art songs as well as the Indiana premiere of her Symphony No. 4 in D minor will be featured.

Price, who became based in Chicago, took first prize in the Rodman Wanamaker Competition with her Symphony in E minor. That led to her being the first Black female composer to have a symphonic work performed by a major national symphony orchestra, when music director Frederick Stock and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played its world premiere in 1933.

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1887, Price began life in a racially integrated neighborhood. At age 4, she performed in her first piano recital; by 11, guided by her mother, she had published her first composition. Her mother had taught school in Indianapolis, and in Little Rock owned a restaurant, sold real estate and worked as a secretary. Price’s father was Little Rock’s only Black dentist, and one of his patients was the state governor.

Price’s instant fame from her world premiere did not, however bring success as a composer. Talent and dedication lost their power when pitted against prejudice.

Guest performer Marquese Carter (they/them), tenor, scholar and activist, is familiar with Price’s work. They will perform and share insights on Price, addressing her historical lack of acceptance as well as the renaissance her music has enjoyed recently. The first half of the concert represents Price’s art songs.

“The pieces I have chosen not only highlight her myriad influences and styles, but also speak thematically to her identities as a Black woman, mother, composer and pedagogue,” Carter said.

Carter’s work in written scholarship and the performing arts highlights composers from marginalized populations, particularly Black women. Their research on Price has been featured in forums including the Society for American Music conference and the New York Times.

Carter’s research and singing career, in fact, have centered on Price’s works.

“My Indiana University dissertation ‘The Poet and Her Songs: Analyzing the Art Songs of Florence Price’ has been noted as a foundational work on Price’s contributions to the song genre,” Carter said.

Carter attributes Price’s exclusion, until recently, from the classical canon to higher education philosophies.

“As all institutions in America, this system has been tainted by anti-Black racism and sexism that has unduly excluded Black women from the concert hall.”

Carter’s own feelings of dysphoria, from navigating predominately white institutions of higher learning, piqued their interest in Price. In fact, their search for a Black voice in classical music led them to her, in whose story they saw a piece of their own.

“By choosing to say yes each day to my calling as an educator, as a Black, non-binary and queer professor in the South, my advocacy often is manifested in my very presence as a resource for marginalized students,” they said.

Carter’s advocacy, they said, is rooted in faith that the future will be better.

Although written in 1945, Price’s Symphony No. 4 has been performed only a few times since its 2018 premiere. The Bloomington Symphony Orchestra seeks to bring Price’s music to light and emphasize her role in the larger discussion around music by women and composers of color — works the orchestral world has historically overlooked.

If you go

WHAT: Wade in the Water, music by Black female composer Florence Price.

WHEN: 5 p.m. Oct. 24.

WHERE: Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. 812-323-3020.

TICKETS: Available from the Buskirk-Chumley Box Office ticketing website: https://bctboxoffice.org/event/wade-in-the-water/.

MORE: Doors open at 4 p.m. for this reserved seating event. Wearing a mask is required in the building and proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result within 48 hours of the performance is required upon entry. The estimated length of the show is 105 minutes. There will be time for Q&A.