Michelle Cann, photo by Titilayo Ayangade.
A Grammy Award-winning trailblazer joins participants from the Art of Piano program for a concert blending traditional and contemporary repertoire.
Lauded as “exquisite” by The Philadelphia Inquirer and “a pianist of sterling artistry” by Gramophone, Michelle Cann is one of the most sought-after pianists of her generation. Recent engagements include appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the LA Phil, and Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de São Paulo.
Recognized as a leading interpreter of the piano music of Florence Price, Cann performed the New York City premiere of Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement with The Dream Unfinished Orchestra in 2016. Her recording of the concerto with the New York Youth Symphony won a Grammy in 2023 for best orchestral performance. She won another Grammy in 2025 for Beyond the Years: Unpublished Songs of Florence Price, recorded with soprano Karen Slack, which features 19 unpublished songs composed by Price. Her acclaimed debut solo album Revival, featuring music by Price and Margaret Bonds, was released in 2023.
We’re lucky to have Cann on faculty for the two-week Art of Piano residency, which offers professional pianists and composers the chance to work with internationally celebrated artists. Participants advance their craft through individual coaching, masterclasses, and performance opportunities.
Art of Piano is generously supported by lead donor Heather Edwards.
Additional support provided by the Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music, Helen Graham, and the Yolanda Freeze Master Artists Music Fund.
About Michelle Cann
Michelle Cann
Celebrated as “exquisite” by the Philadelphia Inquirer and a “pianist of exceptional talent” by Gramophone, Grammy Award–winning pianist Michelle Cann is one of the most sought-after artists of her generation. Recent engagements include appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the São Paulo Municipal Symphony Orchestra. She has received the Sphinx Medal of Excellence and the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award, and was the inaugural Christel DeHaan Artistic Partner of the American Piano Awards.
Highlights of Cann’s 2025–2026 season include performances with the Colorado Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. She also gives the world premiere of a new piano concerto by Valerie Coleman with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Her recital engagements include Stanford Live, Music Toronto, Chamber Music Detroit, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Spivey Hall, and a recital tour in China.
Recognized as one of the leading interpreters of Florence Price’s piano music, Cann gave the New York premiere of Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement with The Dream Unfinished Orchestra in 2016. Her recording of the concerto with the New York Youth Symphony won a Grammy Award in 2023 for Best Orchestral Performance. She won another Grammy Award in 2025 for Beyond the Years: Unpublished Songs of Florence Price, recorded with soprano Karen Slack, featuring 19 previously unpublished songs by Price. Her acclaimed debut solo album, Revival, featuring works by Price and Margaret Bonds, was released in 2023.
Cann holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and an artist diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music. She joined the piano faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2020 as the first holder of the Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies, and she also teaches piano at the Manhattan School of Music.
Image by Titilayo Ayangade.