Friday, September 4, 2020

Virtual Lecture Series on Florence Price Open to the Public at Cornell University: This Sunday, pianist Michelle Cann joins us to kick off the series at 4 PM ET


 Florence B. Price (1887-1953)

Lucy Fitz Gibbon writes:

Dear Mr. Zick,

My name is Lucy Fitz Gibbon and I teach at Cornell University where I, along with two of my colleagues, have been busy organizing a fall virtual lecture series on Florence Price for our students, ahead of our spring festival celebrating her work. This Sunday, pianist Michelle Cann joins us to kick off the series at 4 PM. These events will continue on the first Sunday of the month at 4 PM ET (with an extra event on the 20th dedicated to Ms. Price's songs) and it would be wonderful if it might be possible to share this information on your website at some point! 

Here is the information about this Sunday's event: 
Join ONEcomposer speaker series host, Allen Porterie (Cornell '20) for an interview and Live Q&A with Michelle Cann. Ms. Cann is an internationally-renowned pianist, collaborator, and performer who began studying piano at the age of seven, placing in various state, national, and international competitions and making her orchestral debut at the age of 14. She has been invited to perform with many orchestras including the Florida Orchestra, Tampa Bay Symphony, Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Cleveland Institute of Music Symphony Orchestra, and worked with many esteemed artists who include world-renowned pianists Paul Schenly, Daniel Shapiro, Joela Jones, Sergei Babayan, Jerome Lowenthal and Richard Goode. In 2016, Michelle performed the New York premiere of Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement. She received a glowing review from The Boston Musical Intelligencer for this performance, reporting that “Michelle Cann, as the piano soloist, was a compelling, sparkling virtuoso, bringing this riveting work to life in its first New York performance.” Michelle Cann’s musical brilliance, skill, and integrity makes her one of the most trusted artists to breathe life into Florence Price’s long neglected work. We invite you to listen as we talk to Michelle about growing up in a musical family, her career from a child prodigy to an international musician, and her deep commitment to elevating the work of Florence Price and the next generation of artists.
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ONEcomposer is a commitment to the celebration of musicians whose contributions have been historically erased. By providing a platform for the study, performance, and discussion of a single, underrepresented composer’s life and legacy for the duration of an entire academic year, ONEcomposer promotes a more complete understanding of musical histories.
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For the duration of the 2020-2021 academic year, ONEcomposer will spotlight the life and works of Florence Price. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1887, Price graduated as valedictorian of her high school at the age of fourteen. She then attended New England Conservatory, where she received a soloist diploma in organ, and a teaching diploma in piano as the only double major to graduate in 1906. In 1910 she moved to Atlanta to serve on the faculty at Clark University, where she became the head of the music department. Following the birth of her children, she moved to Chicago, Illinois. In 1933 Price’s Symphony in E Minor was premiered by the Chicago Symphony, making her the first Black female composer to win a premiere with a major American orchestra. Despite isolated triumphs, Price never earned the posterity that she deserved, which was dictated by a culture that favored the music of white men.

Through the support of the Central New York Humanities Corridor and Engaged Cornell, we will offer lecture-recitals, live-streamed performances, and a speaker series with leading Black artists, as we reexamine the excellence of the woman who first inspired ONEcomposer: Florence B. Price.

Attendees can register and find more information at the following link: 

Thank you so much for providing your service to the classical music community.

All best,
Lucy

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Lucy H. Fitz Gibbon, soprano
www.lucyfitzgibbon.com
she/her/hers
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Interim Director of the Vocal Program
Cornell University
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Visiting Faculty, Graduate Vocal Arts Program
Bard College Conservatory of Music

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