Description
The Underwood collection consists primarily of Florence Underwood's written music and research conducted to write the music.
In addition, scrapbooks, personal and legal papers make up a portion of the collection.
Background
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.