Ravinia 2024 Issue 3

unsurpassed wisdom of an Almighty, Supreme God, who must be the true and only architect of the universe. –Program note by Fred Onovwerosuoke FLORENCE PRICE (1887–1953) Night Florence Price grew up in Little Rock, AR, the youngest of three children born to elementary school music teacher Florence Irene and dentist James H. Smith. Coincidentally, young Florence attended the same schools as another future composer—William Grant Still—and reported- ly published her first composition at age 11. After graduating as class valedictorian at Capitol High School three years later, Florence enrolled in the New England Conservatory of Music, where she excelled as a pianist, organist, and composition student of George Chadwick. Florence returned to Little Rock after complet- ing her degree in 1906, working as a private mu- sic teacher and faculty member at Shorter Col- lege. For two years (1910–12), she chaired the music department at Clark University in Atlanta before marrying Thomas J. Price, an attorney in Little Rock. The Prices had two daughters, Flor- ence Louise (b. 1917) and Edith (b. 1921). Flor- ence continued to teach music privately and compose, winning second place twice in Oppor- tunity magazine’s Holstein Prize competition (1925 and 1927). In 1927, Thomas and Florence Price and their children relocated to Chicago, where Florence resumed her studies, musical and otherwise, at several schools, including Chicago Musi- cal College and the American Conservatory. She composed prodigiously (even writing ra- dio commercials) and taught several students privately, among them Margaret Bonds. Price gained worldwide acclaim when her Sympho- ny in E minor won first prize in the 1932 Wa- namaker Competition. Frederick Stock and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed the Florence Price symphony in 1933 at the Century of Progress Ex- hibition, making Price the first Black woman to have a symphony performed by a major Amer- ican orchestra. Although she composed in many genres, Price is widely known for her song settings for solo voice and piano, which span the entirety of her career. Night sets a verse by a little-known poet from Fort Smith, AR—Louise C. Wallace (1902– 73). Price introduced Wallace to a wider public in the pages of The Crisis (February 1926), which included her poem “To a Loved One”: “There is no one close to encourage her. Her mother is dead. … She has never been to college for she’s been too busy sending all the other brothers and sisters there. This self-effacing girl shows abili- ty, fineness of character, and generosity.” Price afterward typed a letter of gratitude to W.E.B. DuBois, editor of The Crisis , for publishing the poem: “Miss Louise Wallace … sends word to me that she has been unable to personally ac- knowledge the interest and kindness of many, foremost among whom is yourself of course. She has been on the verge of a nervous collapse for several weeks; and requests that I express to you without further delay her sincerest thanks.” In Night , the world-weary, ruminative charac- ter of Wallace’s poetry is perfectly matched by Price’s languorous vocal writing. –Program note © 2024 Todd E. Sullivan SHAWN OKPEBHOLO (b. 1981) A Letter from Queen Ufua Storytelling is at the core of composer Shawn E. Okpebholo’s music, be it chamber, symphonic, or operatic works. A Grammy nominee, Ok- pebholo’s compositions are regularly performed around the globe to widespread acclaim from both critics and audiences alike. The Wash- ington Post has described his compositions as “fresh and new and fearless,” as well as “devastat- ingly beautiful,” while The Guardian has praised his music as “lyrical, complex, and singular.” Okpebholo’s artistry has earned him numerous accolades, including awards from The Academy of Arts and Letters, American Prize in Compo- sition, Chamber Music America, and the Barlow Endowment for the Arts. Collaborations with today’s leading artists and ensembles—including Rhiannon Giddens, Law- rence Brownlee, J’Nai Bridges, Will Liverman, eighth blackbird, Copland House Ensemble, and the Chicago, Cincinnati, and Houston Sympho- ny Orchestras—have led to performances in prestigious venues such as Carnegie and Wig- more Halls, the Lincoln, Kennedy, and Kimmel Centers, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as prominent music festivals, including Aspen, Ojai, Bowdoin, and the Oxford Interna- tional Song Festival. Recently, Okpebholo com- pleted a residency with the Chicago Opera Theater. Currently, he is Jonathan Blanchard Distinguished Professor of Composition at Wheaton College Conservatory of Music and also serves as the Saykaly Garbulinska Compos- er-in-Residence with the Lexington Philharmonic. A Letter from Queen Ufua is an art song for soprano and piano composed as part of Karen Slack’s “African Queens” project. Poet Tsitsi Ella Jaji crafted the evocative text for the work, which takes the form of a letter written to my daugh- ters, Eva and Corinne, from their great-great- great-grandmother, Queen Ufua of Esanland. Esan, my ancestral ethnic group, is generation- ally rooted in the central region of Edo State in Nigeria. The Esan language is intrinsically po- etic. Everyday speech is permeated with meta- phors, and Jaji’s text draws inspiration from four specific Esan proverbs: Ose ba ni emiamhẹn (Beauty is more painful than infirmity.) Ese ii muin ẹdẹ (No amount of trouble can prevent daybreak.) Ọnọ ii mhọn ọmọn ii mhọn oruan (The one who has no child cannot have an in-law.) Aah ii gẹn ọmọn bhi isira ọl e (Don’t sing praise of a child in his presence.) Jaji subtly and with grace interweaves my fam- ily’s lineage to further amplify the tender and empowering message to my daughters. Ufua, the queen and the embodiment of “light” in the Esan language, was married to King Akh- ilomen, a name laden with “great responsi- bility.” My ancestral journey continues to un- fold through their son Okhulun, whose name echoes the vastness of the “sky,” to his daugh- ter, my grandmother, Ejaina, whose name apt- ly translates to “wherever I go is good.” Then comes my father, Fidelis, the first to bear a non-Esan name, meaning “faithful,” carrying our line forward to myself, granting me the Esan name, Ehireime, “gift from God.” And finally, we have my precious daughters: Eva— “life”—and Corinne, whose name encapsulates both “a beautiful maiden” and “spear.” caption RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 71