The work of the first Black woman to have one of her pieces played by a major orchestra will be celebrated by a northern Illinois symphony. The composers taking part are all Black.
The Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra is celebrating the music of Florence Price for its 46th season opening.
Courtney Hanna-McNamara is the general manager. She said this is a great opportunity to introduce the greater DeKalb area to the life and works of this composer.
“She's becoming really popular in the world of classical music,” she said. “The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has been featuring some of her music.”
That orchestra was the first to play her piece “The Symphony in E minor” in 1933.
Hanna-McNamara said the concept to feature Price came from the symphony’s music director, Linc Smelser.
“When Linc suggested this idea to the KSO board, I think he was a little worried that they would say we don't have the funds to cover this,” Hanna-McNamara explained. “Because normally our music budget for a season is about $1,500.”
She said the cost to rent, perform and live stream this upcoming concert is about $2,600. The board’s approval and additional crowd funding helped fund the concert.
She said this will be the first time the orchestra has featured all Black composers.
The concert takes place Saturday Oct. 15 at 7:30 pm at Northern Illinois University’s Boutell Memorial Concert Hall. A lecture will take place an hour before the event. Seating for that is first come first serve.
KSO is an underwriter for WNIJ.
- Yvonne Boose is a current corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. It's a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. You can learn more about Report for America at wnij.org.
