[Andover, MA] Andover Choral Society is proud to announce that the recording of the chorus’s world premiere performance in May 2019 of Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight by Florence Price has been selected as a finalist in a prestigious national competition, The American Prize’s Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music. “Members of the chorus and I are deeply honored by this recognition,” said Dr. Michael Driscoll, Andover Choral Society music director. “We are also delighted that this long-forgotten work by one of America’s first female African-American composers is getting the attention it so richly deserves.”
The full list of finalists is available here.
Florence Price (1887-1953) was the first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphony composer and to have a composition played by a major orchestra. In 2009, a substantial collection of her works and papers was found in an abandoned house, and one of these works was Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, a choral work with piano accompaniment set to a poem by Vachel Lindsay. Dr. Michael Driscoll, music director of the chorus, edited the performing edition of the unpublished score.
Andover Choral Society’s May 2019 performance and recording are believed to be the first performance and recording of the piano-accompanied version of this work.
About Andover Choral Society
Andover Choral Society is dedicated to presenting exceptional performances, connecting to the larger community, and fostering an appreciation of choral music. Founded in 1929, the chorus performs two concerts per year, with a repertoire that focuses on fine choral and choral-orchestral works from the Baroque era through the present day. Since 1929, membership has been open to anyone with a love for great choral music and a desire to share that love with others.
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