Every seat in the Missouri History Museum’s Lee Auditorium was filled Friday night for a gathering that honored the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by celebrating Blackness through the lens of classical music. “Let It Resound: The Legacy of Black Composers” brought together musicians of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the voices of the IN UNISON Young Artists. It was presented by the Missouri Historical Society’s African American History Initiative.
Credit: Photos by Taylor Marrie | St. Louis American
Much of the evening centered on the rediscovered brilliance of Florence Price — a composer whose name, for decades, nearly slipped through the cracks of history.
“Tonight, we celebrate music and the stories behind it,” said Michelle Byrd, manager of the SLSO’s IN UNISON Chorus. “Every composer writes with hope that their work will live on — that someone will play it and that their voice will not be forgotten. Yet history often silences more voices than it preserves.”
Byrd reminded the audience that Price’s manuscripts were found in 2009 in an abandoned house — “pages curling, ink bleeding, history decomposing.” What could have been trash turned out to be treasure: symphonies, concertos, chamber works, and hundreds of compositions bearing the same name on their title page.
Born in Little Rock in 1887, Price graduated from the New England Conservatory at 19. She mastered European classical traditions while remaining rooted in the Black musical life that shaped her — fusing spirituals, blues, and church music with orchestral form.
“She had talent, education and relentless drive,” Byrd said. “What she lacked was permission.” In 1933, Price became the first Black woman to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra premiered her work. “But doors closed as quickly as they opened,” Byrd added. “Orchestras ignored her. Critics dismissed her. Her achievements were treated as novelty, not legacy.”
Credit: Photos by Taylor Marrie | St. Louis American
Price’s influence, however, extended far beyond the concert hall. She arranged the version of “My Soul Has Been Anchored in the Lord” that Marian Anderson performed at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 after being barred from Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution. More than 75,000 attended the performance that unapologetically protested segregation standards of the time.
By the 1940s, Price was teaching piano, playing organ for silent films, and composing late into the night. She once wrote to a conductor, “I have two handicaps — those of sex and race.” Byrd paused before adding, “Genius cannot be buried. Eventually someone opens the door.”
The IN UNISON Young Artists and SLSO musicians kicked the door open. Their performance of Price’s “Praise the Lord” showcased her full cultural toolbox — jazz, Negro spirituals, blues, and classical technique woven into a sound that was unmistakably her own.
“When orchestras refused her, Price composed for smaller ensembles,” Byrd said. “When concert halls shut their doors, she wrote for radio.”
The program also highlighted the next generation of Black composers shaped by Price’s legacy.
“Her legacy inspires new generations of Black composers,” Byrd said. “Whose music tells not only their own story, but the music of those who came before, no matter what walk of life. These voices will echo into the future.”
Nkeiru Okoye’s “Movements for String Quartet” paid direct homage to Dr. King through a three‑part suite.
“Overcoming” offered a refreshed take on “We Shall Overcome,” led by a cello line that carried the familiar melody into new emotional territory. “King Fallen” blended blues and gospel harmonies with sweeping orchestral textures that captured the grief and unrest following King’s assassination. “Dancing Barefoot in the Rain” pulsed with the defiant optimism embedded in Black resilience — its staccato rhythms and call‑and‑response strings echoing a moment of praise.
IN UNISON Director Kevin McBeth introduced another contemporary work, “Stardust,” by young Texas composer Britney Boykin. “What if the people we lost to tragedy — Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery — what if they’re still with us?” McBeth said, quoting Boykin. “What if they are stardust?” The haunting choral piece drew a lengthy ovation.
The energy continued with a soulful arrangement of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” and Brandon Williams’ “Fierce Love,” both delivered with conviction by the Young Artists.
“Tonight was truly a beautiful program that showcased the legacy, the love and beauty of Black composition, Black music and Black history,” said Julia Clark, program specialist for the African American History Initiative
What resonated most was the richness and depth of Black musical lineage — from Price’s nearly forgotten manuscripts to the young composers shaping the future. The program made clear that Black classical music stretches beyond a footnote. It is a foundation.
Byrd provided definitions of the words “let it resound” to further drive home the evening’s intention – to allow, and to fill a space with sound loud enough to be repeated or reverberated.
“Florence’s music resounds tonight – patient, powerful, undeniable,” Byrd said. “She was always a genius. The world simply refused to admit it. Now it has no choice.”
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
