Biographical/Historical note
Florence Underwood was born Florence White on August 27th, 1906 in North Dakota. She married Lloyd Underwood in 1926. They had one son, Robert Underwood. She and her family moved from Portland, Oregon to the San Francisco Bay area, and lived in San Mateo County. She studied with Darius Milhaud at Mills College in the 1940s. In February of 1953, her composition "The Hopi Indian Legend" was premiered by the San Diego Philharmonic Orchestra. Werner Janssen conducted. Several of her compositions were performed by local orchestras, and she also composed original music for amateur theater groups in the San Francisco Bay and Portland areas. She taught piano and composition privately and at Multnomah College in Portland. In addition to her music career, Underwood also worked in public relations at the College of Notre Dame and had her own lapidary business in Belmont, California. She died June 27th, 1988.
From the guide to the Guide to the Florence Underwood Collection, 1905-1988, (Stanford University Music Library)
