In 1933, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed the Symphony in E Minor by Florence Price, making her the first African-American woman to have a large-scale composition performed by a major U.S. symphony orchestra. In the past decade, her music, which includes art songs and piano, organ, chamber and orchestral works, has been receiving renewed attention, spurred by the discovery of dozens of scores in an abandoned Illinois house and efforts to recognize the contributions of musicians and composers of color. This month saw the launch of the inaugural International Florence Price Festival - adapted to an online format - and A Tempo this Saturday (8/15 at 7 pm) features a conversation with Festival President Marquese Carter - a tenor and Assistant Professor of Music at Murray State University in Murray, KY - about Price, her work and her contributions to music.
The Festival wraps up Saturday Aug. 15 - watch archived panel discussions here. Hear a playlist for the Festival here.
(Note: An earlier version of this story identified Carter as an assistant professor at Southern Georgia University, which was a previous post.)
