Calloway 1
Laray Calloway
Professor Parker
Mufhl 300
April 11, 2018
The Amazing Life of Florence B. Price
Over the past hundreds of years, there have been many great musicians that
have lived and composed amazing music for their era. Some of these musicians have
even been so good, that they have made history in the world of music. A few of the
common composers and musicians people often think about are Mozart, Beethoven,
and Bach. Even though these men were stunning musicians, few people recognize the
many African Americans that have made history in the world of music as well. Sadly,
often times when it comes to African American composers, they hardly ever receive the
recognition that should be given to them. I have chosen to write my research paper on
Florence Beatrice Price, to reveal the musical genius that African Americans possess.
Florence Beatrice Smith was born on Saturday, April 9th, in 1887 to two
wonderful parents by the name of Florence Gulliver, and James H. Smith. With her
father being the first African American dentist in their city, and her mother being a
teacher of music, Florence was destined to do great things in life. From the day that
Florence was brought into this world, she was blessed with a musical talent that was
deep within her, waiting to be opened up and discovered. Being that Florence’s mother
was a music teacher, Florence naturally gravitated towards music and found her love for
it at a very young age. By the time she was a toddler her mother had already began
Calloway 2
giving her piano lessons, and by the age of four, she had already given her first piano
performance during a recital. As Florence grew older, she became so good at playing
the piano that her parents decided to send her to a school where she could continue to
get even better at the piano and further her musical abilities. When Florence turned
eleven years old she composed and published her first piece of music, and continued to
compose more songs throughout her time high school. Along with excelling in music,
Florence also did exceptional in high school and graduated at the top of her class as
valedictorian. It is stated that, “Price was 14 when she graduated from Capitol High
School...By now she was already a published composer” (Breakthrough
Pianist/Composer). Due to Florence’s age, she stayed at home until she was sixteen
before entering college.
When it came time for Florence to decide what musical college she wanted to go
to, there were many different one’s that she had in mind. Sadly, even though she was
very talented, she couldn’t go to any school that she wanted to due to segregation.
During that time it was very hard being an African American who wanted to go to
college because most colleges were all white school’s. Even though the majority of the
college’s during that time were all white, there were a few that had begun accepting
African American student’s as well. One musical college that allowed African
Americans, and that had accep...
