Documentary Film Featuring UA Faculty and Students to Be Broadcast Nationally

Photo courtesy of UA Special Collections

 A documentary film featuring University of Arkansas music students and professors as well as UA historians and journalists has been broadcast on 186 PBS affiliate stations over the past two months. On March 28 and 29 it will be broadcast nationally on PBS World channel.  The Caged Bird: the Life and Music of Florence B. Price tells the inspiring story of the first African-American woman to have her music performed by a major symphony orchestra. Price was born in Little Rock in 1887 and in 1933 her Symphony was premiered by the world famous Chicago Symphony at the Chicago World's Fair.

This recent documentary features music students and faculty, including Robert Mueller and Er-Gene Kahng, performing Price's lovely music.  At other points in the film commentary by UA history professor Calvin White, and music professor emerita Barbara Jackson contribute to the narrative of Price's achievements. The film was written and produced by music professor emeritus James Greeson, along with Dale Carpenter, professor of journalism as the associate producer. The film was supported by grants from the Arkansas Humanities Council. Vital elements of the documentary were provided by the UA Special Collections department which holds the most significant collection of Florence Price musical scores and documents in the world.

In addition to being broadcast on PBS affiliates across the country the film has also been accepted at a number of film festivals, including the Los Angeles International Women's Film Festival, the San Diego Black Film Festival, the Classical Arts Festival in Napa, California, and it has been shown in St. Louis, Philadelphia, Barbados and Trinidad as part of the Africa World Documentary Film Festival.