WORLD OF THE PIANO

Hailed as “a compelling, sparkling virtuoso” (Boston Music Intelligencer), Michelle Cann is an exquisite pianist and champion of music by Florence Price, the first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer. Cann made her orchestral debut at the age of 14 and has performed in recital and as a chamber musician and orchestral soloist throughout the United States, China and South Korea. She has also won top prizes in state, national and international competitions including the International Russian Music Piano Competition, Blount Slawson Young Artists Competition and Wideman International Piano Competition.

PROGRAM

Frédéric Chopin: Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, op. 47
Johannes Brahms: Ballade in D Major, op. 10, No. 2
Clara Schumann: Four Pièces fugitives, op. 15
Florence Price: Sonata in E Minor
Clara Schumann: Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, op. 20
Florence Price: Fantasie Nègre No. 1 in E Minor
Margaret Bonds: Troubled Water

Program subject to change.

This performance is sponsored by Crescent Cities Charities, providing educational assistance to promising students with financial need, and supporting charities and community organizations. Learn more at cccharities.org.

New This Year: Digital Programs!

Shenandoah Conservatory is launching digital programs for the 2021/22 season! We’re always looking for ways to improve your audience experience and provide more ways to connect with our students, faculty and guest artists from around the world. The digital program is best viewed on your mobile or tablet device.

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MEET THE ARTIST

“A compelling, sparkling virtuoso” (Boston Music Intelligencer), pianist Michelle Cann made her orchestral debut at age fourteen and has since performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

A champion of the music of Florence Price, Ms. Cann performed the New York City premiere of the composer’s Piano Concerto in One Movement with The Dream Unfinished Orchestra in July 2016 and the Philadelphia premiere with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin in February 2021, which the Philadelphia Inquirer called “exquisite.” She has also performed Price’s works for solo piano and chamber ensemble for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music Society of Detroit, and the New World Symphony, among other presenters.

Highlights of her 2021/22 season include debut performances with the Atlanta, Detroit, and St. Louis symphony orchestras, as well as her Canadian concert debut with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. She also receives the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization, and the 2022 Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award. Embracing a dual role as both performer and pedagogue, her season includes teaching residencies at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival and the National Conference of the Music Teachers National Association.

Ms. Cann regularly appears in recital and as a chamber musician throughout the United States, China, and South Korea. Notable venues include the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Barbican in London with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Ms. Cann regularly performs duo recitals with her sister, pianist Kimberly Cann; together their “sheer verve and evident passion is something to behold” (Mountain Xpress).

Ms. Cann has appeared as cohost and collaborative pianist with NPR’s From The Top, collaborating with actor/conductor Damon Gupton, violinist Leila Josefowicz, and violinist and MacArthur Fellow Vijay Gupta. She has also been featured on WRTI-FM and WHYY-TV in Philadelphia. Her summer festival appearances have included the Taos Chamber Music Festival, Yellow Barn, Perlman Music Program, Music Academy of the West, Geneva Music Festival, and Pianofest in the Hamptons, where she serves as artist in residence.

Ms. Cann has won top prizes in state, national, and international competitions including the International Russian Music Piano Competition, the Blount Slawson Young Artists Competition, and the Wideman International Piano Competition. In 2019 she served as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s MAC Music Innovator in recognition of her role as an African-American classical musician who embodies artistry, innovation, and a commitment to education and community engagement.

Ms. Cann manifests this commitment through her activities in Philadelphia and as part of touring engagements around the globe. She has served as the director of two children’s choruses in the El Sistema-inspired program Play On Philly and was among the first class of ArtistYear fellows at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she worked with community partners City Year, Teach for America, and AmeriCorps to provide arts education and access to underserved communities in Philadelphia. In 2019 she served on the faculty of the Sphinx Performance Academy during its inaugural year at the Juilliard School.

Ms. Cann holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Paul Schenly and Dr. Daniel Shapiro, and an Artist’s Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Robert McDonald.

Ms. Cann served as a collaborative staff pianist at the Curtis Institute of Music for several years. She joined the faculty in 2020 as the inaugural Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies.

MEDIA PARTNER

ACCESSIBILITY

Accommodations for disabilities may be arranged by contacting the Box Office at least three days prior to the performance.

Photos by Michael Zirkle and Jiyang Chen