University Libraries, UA Music to Host Florence Price Event Feb. 7

The public is invited to celebrate the life and legacy of composer Florence Price during a special exhibit and live performance hosted by the University of Arkansas Libraries Special Collections Division and the U of A Department of Music. "Resonant Voices - Music by Florence Price" will take place from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, in the Walker Community Room at the Fayetteville Public Library. 

An Arkansas native, Price was the first African American woman composer to have her work performed by a major orchestra. Born in Little Rock in 1888, she composed nearly 300 works spanning orchestral, chamber, piano and vocal music. Much of Price's music was thought to be lost following her death in 1953. However, that changed in 2009, when a cache of her manuscripts was rediscovered during the renovation of a house once owned by her daughter, sparking renewed national and international interest in her work.

The University of Arkansas Libraries' Special Collections Division is now home to the Florence Price Papers, a collection including published and unpublished sheet music, photographs, teaching materials and personal documents. Selected items from the collection have been digitized and made available online through the Florence Price Digital Collection, and an exhibit featuring materials from the archive will be on display during the event.

After a brief talk about Price's life and the Libraries' collections by Joshua Youngblood, associate dean for Special Collections, the afternoon will also feature live performances by faculty and staff from the U of A Department of Music, showcasing Price's compositions for piano and voice.

Performance lineup:

Honeysuckle (A Southern Sky)
Connor Aterberry, piano

Church Spires in the Moonlight
Ashlee Capshaw, piano

God Gives Me You (A Wedding Song)
Mia Johnson, voice

Night
Jazlin Redding, voice

Coreopsis
Elam Denham, piano
Xusen Lei, piano

I Grew a Rose
A Poet and His Song
Sarah Cain, voice
Xiting Yang, piano

Andante
Song Without Words (Pleading)
Xiting Yang

This free event, organized by teaching assistant professor of piano Xiting Yang, offers a unique opportunity to experience Price's music while exploring the archival materials that help preserve her legacy.