florence beatrice price (april 9, 1887, little rock, arkansas â june 3, 1953, chicago, illinois) was an american composer. == career == florence price (nÃ©e smith) was the first african-american woman in the united states to have a composition played by a major orchestra and is considered the first african-american woman in the united states to be recognized as a symphonic composer. price was born to florence gulliver and james h. smith on april 9th, 1887. price was one of three children in a mixed race family. despite racial issues of the era, priceâs family was well respected and did well within their community. her father was a dentist and her mother was a music teacher who guided florenceâs early musical training. price had her first piano performance at the age of 4 and went on to have her first composition published at the age of 11. by time she was 14, price had graduated capitol high school at the top of her class and was enrolled in the new england conservatory of music with a major in piano and organ. initially, price pretended to be mexican to avoid the stigma people had towards african-americans at the time. while in college, price was able to study composition and counterpoint with composers george chadwick and frederick converse. she wrote her first string trio and symphony in college and graduated in 1907 with honors and both an artist diploma in organ and a teaching certificate. price taught in arkansas briefly before moving to atlanta, georgia in 1910, where she became the head of clark universityâs music department. in 1912, price married thomas j. price, an attorney, and moved back to little rock, arkansas. after a series of racial incidents in little rock, particularly a lynching that took place in 1927, the family moved to chicago where price began a new and fulfilling period in her compositional career. she studied composition, orchestration, and organ with the leading teachers in the city including arthur olaf anderson, carl busch, wesley la violette, and leo sowerby, and published four pieces for piano in 1928. while in chicago, price was at various times enrolled at the chicago musical college, chicago teacherâs college, chicago university, and american conservatory of music, studying languages and liberal arts subjects as well as music. financial struggles led to a divorce in 1931, and florence became a single mother to her two daughters. to make ends meet, she worked as an organist for silent film screenings and composed songs for radio ads under a pen name. during this time, price lived with friends and eventually moved in with her student and friend, margaret bonds. this friendship connected price with writer langston hughes and singer marian anderson, both prominent figures in the art world who aided in priceâs future success as a composer. together, price and bonds began to achieve national recognition for their compositions and performances. in 1932, both price and bonds submitte
1887_births 1953_deaths 20th-century_classical_composers African-American_classical_composers American_Conservatory_alumni Chicago_Musical_College_alumni Musicians_from_Chicago,_Illinois Musicians_from_Little_Rock,_Arkansas New_England_Conservatory_alumni Pupils_of_George_Whitefield_Chadwick University_of_Chicago_alumni Women_classical_composers