Michelle Cann

Lauded as “technically fearless with…an enormous, rich sound” (La Scena Musicale), pianist Michelle Cann made her orchestral debut at age 14 and has since performed as a soloist with numerous prominent orchestras. She is the recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization. Cann’s Meany debut features a program of music by luminaries of Chicago’s Black Renaissance, including Hazel Scott, Nora Holt, Irene Britton Smith and others. A champion of the music of Florence Price, Cann also performs the composer’s Fantasies No. 1, 2 and 4.

One of the most visible exponents of the music of Florence Price.
— Chicago Tribune

PROGRAM

FLORENCE PRICE: Fantasie nègre No. 1

FLORENCE PRICE: Fantasie nègre No. 2

FLORENCE PRICE: Fantasie nègre No. 4

MARGARET BONDS: Spiritual Suite

BETTY JACKSON KING: Four Seasonal Sketches

IRENE BRITTON SMITH: Variations on a Theme by MacDowell

NORA HOLT: Negro Dance Op. 25, No. 1

HAZEL SCOTT: Improvisation on Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C-sharp Minor

HAZEL SCOTT: Improvisation on Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

Piano Series generously underwritten by Sven & Melinda Bitners and by Sally Schaake Kincaid