On Sunday, October 24, at 5:00 p.m., the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra will present Wade in the Water at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in downtown Bloomington. The event will include a presentation of Florence Price’s art songs as well as the Indiana premiere of her Symphony No. 4 in D Minor. In-person and livestream tickets are available from the BCT Box Office ticketing website: https://bctboxoffice.org/event/wade-in-the-water/.
Although written in 1945, Price’s 4th Symphony has been performed only a handful of times since its 2018 premiere. The Bloomington Symphony Orchestra seeks to bring Price’s music to light and emphasize her role in the larger discussion around music by women and composers of color— works that have been historically overlooked by the orchestral world.
Joining the BSO for the program is guest tenor, scholar, and cultural activist, Dr. Marquese Carter (marquesecarter.com). Dr. Carter will perform, share insights on Price’s art songs, and expand on the context of her work — addressing the historical lack of acceptance as well as the renaissance that her music has experienced in the last several years. In the words of Dr. Carter, the first half of the concert “represents a tour of Price’s many-splendored art songs. The pieces I have chosen not only highlight her myriad influences and styles, but also speak thematically to her identities as a black woman, mother, composer, and pedagogue.”
Dr. Carter (they/them/their) has distinguished themself as a force for change in the world of classical music. Their work whether in written scholarship or in the performing arts has centered composers from marginalized populations, particularly black women. Carter’s research on the art songs of Florence Price has been featured in numerous forums including the Society for American Music conference and the New York Times. Archival research for their dissertation “The Poet and Her Songs: Analyzing the Art Songs of Florence B. Price” was generously funded by the American Musicological Society Thomas Hampson Fund grant for song research.
There will be time for Q&A.
Doors open at 4:00 p.m. for this reserved seating event. Wearing a mask is required in the building and proof of COVID vaccination or a negative COVID test result within 48 hours of the performance is required upon entry. The estimated length of the show is 105 minutes.