Newberry Library | African American Composers & the Black Renaissance

In 1932, Katherine Dunham premiered Florence Price’s Fantasie Nègre no. 1 in E Minor as a ballet accompanied by Chicago composer Margaret Bonds. The next year, Dunham starred in a leading role in a staging of William Grant Still’s La Guiablesse at the Century of Progress Exposition.

With these performances, Dunham embodied the Black folkloric and European classical sound worlds conjured up by two of the most prominent and prolific Black Renaissance composers: Price and Still. This event brings their intersecting artistries to life with an exploration and musical performance of the works that Dunham built into her craft.

Join musicologist Samantha Ege for a discussion of work by Margaret Bonds, Florence Price, and William Grant Still, three African American classical composers whose work is achieving renewed interest and recognition.