united states
Florence Price (1887–1953) was an American composer, pianist, and organist who became the first African American woman to have a symphony performed by a major U.S. orchestra. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, she studied at the New England Conservatory and later settled in Chicago, where she developed her career. Price composed more than 300 works, including symphonies, concertos, chamber music, piano pieces, and art songs. Her music blends European classical forms with elements of African American spirituals, blues, and folk traditions. After being largely overlooked for decades, her work gained renewed attention following the 2009 discovery of previously unknown manuscripts