I am totally obsessed with Florence Price. Born in 1887 Little Rock, Arkansas, Price was the first female African American composer to have a work performed by a major symphony. She studied at the New England Conservatory, listing her hometown as Pueblo, Mexico in hopes of avoiding discrimination.
I was honored to perform Price’s second movement from her Sonata in E minor on the Kent Keyboard Series, celebrating the music of African American composers. This piece, with the help of my fabulous teacher, has taught me SO much about tone production and depth of sound. You can hear this woman’s pain in every note. It ends peacefully and with hope in C Major. Just incredible.