Overtown resident James Ford plays the piano. Above him is a portrait of his teacher, mentor and friend, Ruth Greenfield. Greenfied’s husband, Arnold, painted the portrait in 1990. Charles Greenfield
[“Ruth Greenfield sits beside Jim Ford, her first black piano student, in this 1997 photo.” MIAMI HERALD File]
On April 14, 2012 AfriClassical posted:
04/09/2015
The hand written invitation from Ruth Greenfield, founder of Miami’s
Fine Arts Conservatory, was a reminder of bygone days. She and her late
husband, Arnold, often showcased performing artists to community groups
at their home. A mystery guest at the March 2015 soiree made it another
special evening.
Greenfield presented a musical feast of classical
composers including Bach, Mozart, Telemann, Paulsson, Chopin,
Pergolessi, Bartok and Gershwin. The selections were performed by
eminent artists GianCarlo Calluci, David Goldberger, Brian Neal, Karen
Neal, Julia Jakkel, Joseph Talleda, Wayne Bumpers and Adam Chefitz. A
monologue was delivered by Aidan Neal while waiting for the mystery
artist.
“When one puts a little effort in listening to intricate
music with all of one's being, one discovers a whole new world of sound
which in turn opens a new view of the world around us,” mused Brian
Neal, director of Instrumental Studies at Miami Dade College, Kendall
campus. “‘Classical music’ can be found everywhere and there is true
enjoyment in being able to hear it in the most surprising places.”
As
afternoon faded into evening, a slight chill in the air invigorated the
group of nearly 65. Some are retired and others continue in the
workforce. Old timers and newcomers, this collective represented Miami’s
current diverse community as well as the community once divided by
race.
Everyone listened when Greenfield introduced her mystery guest: James
Ford, a concert pianist and the son of one of her longtime friends, the
late Mary I. Ford Williams. Born in Miami’s Colored Town, now known as
Overtown, James by age 13 showed exceptional talent as a pianist. He
qualified, was accepted, and attended a summer program in New York at
the Juilliard School of Music while his mother studied for a master’s
degree at Columbia University in New York. Returning to Miami, his
talent was not enough for him to be accepted locally for advanced study.
Years later, when the schools integrated, he graduated with honors from
the University of Miami.
Traveling to Paris in 1949, Greenfield
experienced racial integration. She learned that sharing one’s culture
can enrich all. A white woman born in Key West, she became a musician,
teacher and activist for social change. Ford Willliams, a black woman
born in Florence, South Carolina, was an elementary school principal and
mother seeking opportunities to fuel her talented son’s passion for
music advancing his piano skills. He was already composing piano
sonatas, while practicing those of Mozart and Beethoven.
Greenfield met the Fords in 1951. After reading in the Miami Times about
the opening of the Fine Arts Conservatory Ford Williams enrolled her
son. The conservatory was originally located in an Overtown business,
one block north of the Historic Lyric Theater on Northwest Second Avenue
and 10th Street. It was Florida’s sole integrated school of music and
the creative arts. The construction of Interstate 95 displaced
Overtown’s businesses and residents causing the population to shift to
the suburbs. During that time, the school relocated to Liberty City.
Before
1964, black people and white people were separated by custom and law in
every phase of life. Miami’s Colored Town music, dance and art teachers
offered private lessons in their homes.
The Fine Arts
Conservatory was the first and only pioneer private organization to
centralize the arts and provide instruction by university faculty. In
the midst of racial segregation, the conservatory offered small group
and private lessons in music, art, dance, drama and music theory at
minimal costs to children of all races, mindful only of their abilities
and interests in the arts.
The saga of the conservatory’s 25-year
existence was briefly shared with the audience before dinner. At
evening’s end, Greenfield — herself an accomplished pianist — played
popular melodies and James Ford played themes and variations. She is 91
and he is 77. Both continue to play with enthusiasm and vigor.
***
[Dorothy Jenkins Fields, PhD, is a historian and founder of the Black
Archives, History and Research Foundation of South Florida Inc. Send
feedback to djf@bellsouth.net.]
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