Her Voice

Recently I’ve been struggling in my relationship with classical music, and Florence Price has been the glue keeping the pieces of my musical self from shattering into a million pieces. Her piece “Clouds” has been my close companion this semester.

Playing this piece motivates me to press into music, even when the pressure I feel from my overly-critical voice knocks me down again and again. Florence Price faced blatant racism and sexism throughout the entire course of her life, yet she still created music. You can hear her spirit of persistence

Playing this piece inspires me to find my compositional voice. Though Florence Price’s music is still being silenced to this day, she HAS a compositional voice. And her voice is powerful. Her music is a direct reflection of her life and of her battles with identity. And that’s what I want my music to be. In the meager musical exploration I’ve done, each note has been informed by me wrestling with my identity as a musician.

Here’s a quote from the John Michael Cooper, “By integrating disparate musical styles, none of which bows to the prejudicial restrictions that Price's world would have placed upon her because of her race and her sex, under a title so powerfully evocative of freedom, Price in Clouds asserts her ability to resist — to refuse to let her mind be segregated, her imagination stilled, her genius bowed by others' expectations.”

It’s a beautiful piece, in melody and in meaning. And performing it in front of others has proved to be quite difficult, since this work forces me to face all my vulnerabilities. As a musician, pianist, educator, artist, woman… But I’m proud of myself because I was able to share this music at my piano studio’s recital! It was such a powerful experience to devote an entire concert program to the music of a woman who has continually been silenced and belittled by the system of classical music.

In a little over a year from now, all of her music will enter into the public domain! I await that day with eager expectation. Until then and beyond, I will hold fast to the inspiration Price has had on my life, and I look forward to exploring her voice as I begin to find my own.

Always create creatively,

- Maggie