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Michelle Cann: Music In Her Blood

Michelle Cann:  Music In Her Blood

Introduction to Michelle Cann.  0:57 sec. Interview: Raymond Elman.  Post-Production: Lee Skye.  Music:  Michelle Cann.  Recorded via ZOOM   1/13/2025, Miami & Philadelphia.

 

Recognized as a leading interpreter of the piano music of Florence Price, MICHELLE CANN performed the New York City premiere of Price’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. Her recording of the concerto with the New York Youth Symphony won a Grammy Award in 2023 for Best Orchestral Performance. Her acclaimed debut solo album Revival, featuring music by Price and Margaret Bonds, was released in May 2023 on the Curtis Studio label. With soprano Karen Slack she recorded Beyond the Years, released in July 2024, featuring 19 unpublished songs composed by Price. She has also recorded two Price piano quintets with the Catalyst Quartet as a part of the quartet’s UNCOVERED series. A champion of emerging talent, Cann and cellist Tommy Mesa recorded Our Stories, an album of new works by five living composers of color, which was released in November 2023.

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. She joined the Curtis piano faculty in 2020 as the inaugural Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies. She is also on the piano faculty of the Manhattan School of Music.

The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 9 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES:   0:57 sec..

Where did you grow up, and what was your first awareness of art of any discipline?

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES:   1:20 min.

Did you gravitate toward classical music early on? Or did you embrace all genres of music?

 

VALUES FIRST-RATE EDUCATION:   1:18 min.

Where did you go to school, and what did you learn that still informs you today?

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES:   3:09 min.

Tell us about your evolution from school to a professional career.

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:   1:37 min.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started your professional career?

 

COMMUNITY VALUES:    1:17 min.

We recorded an ArtSpeak video conversation with conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson, who will perform with the New World Symphony. Do you know Jeri Johnson?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:    5:25 min.

Tell us about your experience with the New World Symphony and your upcoming performance on February 6 & 7.

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES:     1:27 min.

Who are some of your role models and influencers?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:    0:40 sec.

What’s your favorite movie?