Florence Price

The first African-American woman whose music was played by a major symphony orchestra, Florence Price was a pioneering figure in 20th century American music. In the 21st century, her music has been performed increasingly often, especially since a large cache of her compositions was rediscovered in 2009. Price was born Florence Beatrice Smith in Little Rock, Arkansas, on April 9, 1887. Her father was a dentist, and her mother was a music teacher. She and her two siblings all took music lessons, and she emerged as the prodigy of the group, giving her first performance at age fo...