Amanda Majeski, Jonathan Johnson, Karim Sulayman Headline Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago 10th Anniversary Season

Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago is set to celebrate its tenth anniversary season with digital programming that includes recitals, workshops, and the company’s annual Collaborative Works Festival. This year’s Collaborative Works Festival will exclusively feature women composers, as they commemorate the 100th anniversary since the ratification of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave women the right to {…}

Jul 4, 2020

Opera Quiz: How Well Do You Know the Career of Florence Price?

Florence Price was a truly important Black composer in her day. She composed the first piece by a Black woman to be performed by a major orchestra and was championed by many of the great Black artists of her day. Unfortunately, after her passing, many of her works disappeared only to be rediscovered again decades later. For this edition of {…}

Jun 17, 2020

Composer Profile: Florence Price, A Barrier-Breaking Creator of Wide Ranging Classical Music

“My dear Dr. Koussevitzky, To begin with, I have two handicaps—those of sex and race. I am a woman; and I have some Negro blood in my veins.” These are the words of composer Florence Price in a letter to conductor Serge Koussevitzky in an attempt to find a champion for her work. Koussevitzky would not be among those to {…}

Jun 8, 2020

10 Essential & Historic Opera Recordings of Music by Black Composers (Updated with Addendum)

June 8th marks the start of African-American Music Appreciation Month. While the talent and musical accomplishments of the black community cannot possibly be summarized in one article, we have compiled a list of notable recordings of not only great singers, but also composers whose works have been overlooked for decades, even centuries. In recent years more attention has finally been {…}

Nov 21, 2018

G. Schirmer. Inc To Publish Florence Price’s Music Catalog

G. Schirmer, Inc., part of The Music Sales Group has announced the acquisition of the worldwide publishing rights to classical composer Florence Price’s catalog. Florence Price was one of the first African-American women to be nationally recognized as a composer and was the first African-American woman to have her work performed by a major American orchestra. In a press release G. {…}