Springfield music festival to feature long-lost piece by Florence Price
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — This Thursday through Saturday, the Springfield Choral Society and University of Illinois Springfield Music will be hosting a music festival centered around Black composer Florence Price and the famous poem “Abraham Lincoln Walks At Midnight.”
The festival will lead up to a cantata composed by Price, set to the celebrated poem by Springfield native Vachel Lindsay. Price’s work was lost until it was discovered inside a home on the outskirts of Chicago in 2009 — over 50 years after her death. Now, it will be performed in Illinois for the very first time.
The event, entitled “Abraham Lincoln Walks At Midnight: A Springfield Festival,” is made in partnership with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Springfield & Central Illinois African American History Museum and the Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site.
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The festival will open on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield. A biographical concert called “Don’t Tell Me No: The Life of Florence Price in Story and Song” will tell Price’s life story through the narration of Reggie Guyton and Tiffany Williams, as well as her ensemble music, presented by the voices of the Springfield Choral Society.
On Friday, a special guided tour of the African American History Museum will be offered at 5:30 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., the museum will host “In Our Little Town: A Musical Conversation about Race.” Speakers will discuss questions of race and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra will play Price’s pieces through string quartet. Reservations are required as seating is limited. People can register online or by emailing springfieldchoralsociety@gmail.com.
At 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will present “Lincoln Walks at the Lindsay Home.” Guests will get a 30-minute tour of the Vachel Lindsay Home and get a glimpse into the context and creation of the poem “Abraham Lincoln Walks At Midnight.” The tour will be led by State Historic Sites Interpreter Sheila Ryan. Registrations are encouraged but not required, and can be made online.
The festival will finish off with the Illinois premiere of Price’s cantata at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the UIS Performing Arts Center.
Admission is free to all events.
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