Florence Beatrice Price (1887–1953) was an African-American composer born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Price was considered a prodigy in her time, performing her first piano recital at the tender age of 4 years old and graduating as her high school’s valedictorian at age 14. She was admitted to the New England Conservatory where she majored in organ performance and piano pedagogy, earning diplomas in both in 1906. She also studied composition privately with George Whitefield Chadwick while there.

Following her time at NEC, Price moved to Chicago, which proved to be a great move for Price’s career. She would participate in the Chicago Black Renaissance, a parallel to the Harlem Renaissance, and finally got to continue her studies in composition, orchestration, and organ with various high-profile teachers in the city. She would also be enrolled at various times in the Chicago Musical College, the American Conservatory of Music, the Chicago Teachers’ College, and the University of Chicago to study both music and languages.

Due to financial hardships and abuse, Price would divorce her husband in 1931. In order to help make ends meet now as a single mother, she would move in with her student and fellow African-American composer Margaret Bonds; this friendship would also earn her the acquaintance of Langston Hughes and Marian Anderson, both of whom would help Price’s career flourish in the coming years. In 1932, Price would submit her Symphony in E minor to the Wanamaker Foundation Awards, winning first prize. This piece would later be performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, making Price the first African-American woman to have her music played by a major American orchestra.