Special Music School students read from Who is Florence Price?, a new children’s book they and their classmates wrote about the composer, at New York City’s Merkin Hall, November 2021. Photo by David Anorak.
At New York City’s Kaufman Music Center in November, students from the Special Music School cheered when classmates appeared onstage to celebrate the publication of the children’s book Who is Florence Price? Students from the public school researched, wrote, and illustrated the book about composer Florence Price (1887-1953), whose music is having a renaissance at American orchestras after decades of neglect. The book started as a classroom project with teacher Shannon Potts, and the Special Music School initially published the book on its own, shortly before the pandemic. Later, Kaufman Music Center Executive Director Kate Sheehan sent it to Robert Thompson—president of G. Schirmer, which in 2018 acquired the worldwide rights to Price’s music catalog—who agreed to publish the book. At November’s event, students’ readings from the book were interspersed by performances of Price’s music. In her foreword to the book, composer Jessie Montgomery wrote, “The writers were able to recognize the complex social context of Price’s life, diving in to the core issues of racial and gender discrimination she faced while pursuing her passion for music…. When we pay attention to the full story of our history, we can continue to be more empowered and inspired.”
