Alumni Spotlight Michelle Cann

Open Minds and Open Doors

By Suzanne de Roulet

“A big part of my success can be attributed to my time [at CIM],” said Cann. “I feel like I have this school to thank for a really strong foundation and a love for music-making and collaboration.”

(Photos courtesy of the artist)

“It’s important to be open to what the world is offering you,” said pianist Michelle Cann one day after a recital at CIM, moments before a master class.

These are not just empty words. Cann (BM ’09, MM ’10, Schenly/D. Shapiro) is all about being open, and her dedication to openness has helped her open minds, hearts and doors – for herself, her students and untold thousands of listeners.

Cann attributes this openness – to new experiences, ideas and music – to her time at CIM.

“This place created an open mind for me,” said Cann. “It was a very good environment for me. I think fondly of my time here.”

While a student at CIM, Cann also studied biology at Case Western Reserve University. “I couldn’t believe how hard it was,” she said of the science work. “But it meant my classes weren’t all with the same people.” Seeking exposure to other students, those with other interests and goals outside music, was important to Cann. In addition to studying biology, she took part in a student club at CWRU.

“I was very much in the community outside the intensity of conservatory life, and I think that was very healthy,” she explained. “It gave me confidence.

“When you have only one avenue, you’re really setting yourself up to probably be very disappointed. You have to stop defining success in one way. Pushing myself to try other things showed me that when a door opened, I was willing to go through and see where it took me.”

This philosophy has served Cann well. Today, the pianist is in demand all over the world, including with the so-called “Big Five” orchestras, and holds the inaugural Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies at the Curtis Institute of Music.

Now, she is often the one opening doors for others.

At Curtis, Cann is the first Black woman to chair the school’s piano department. While this barrier-breaking fact must make a difference – particularly to young musicians of color who might one day want to follow in her footsteps – Cann also takes great pride in the work she does one-on-one with her students.

Being a teacher is a key aspect of Cann’s identity. Teaching is “a huge part of who I am,” she said, and has been for many years.

Cann started teaching long before she joined the faculty at Curtis. She grew up in Florida and attended a Christian community school, where her father taught music. By age 15, she had students of her own, and she kept teaching through her time at CIM.

“What I’ve learned is to take each student individually, and cater my approach to them,” she said. “You have to keep them motivated, growing and positive. It can’t be formulaic.”

She loves her students and tries to be “as big a part of their lives as possible,” she said.

In 2021, Cann received the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization, for her artistic excellence, work ethic, leadership, determination and commitment to community.

In response to this award, CIM President and CEO Paul Hogle said, “Michelle’s commitment to expanding the classical music canon to include exceptional composers and works that have long been overlooked is a testament to the impact that one person can have on the future of classical music.”

Meanwhile, on many stages, Cann is championing the music of Florence Price, a prodigiously gifted but egregiously overlooked Black composer.

Growing up in Florida, Cann was surrounded by music. And yet the prevailing narrative at the time was that Black people did not become composers.

Learning about Florence Price in 2016 – composer of more than 300 works and the first Black woman to see a premiere by a major orchestra – opened a door through which Cann has found connection, joy and great success. Now, she performs Price’s work for audiences nationwide, opening eyes to the existence and quality of this long-overlooked repertoire.

For most listeners, Price is a discovery. Price’s work went largely unperformed after her death in 1953 and was only rediscovered in 2009, when a collection of her manuscripts was found in Price’s Chicago home. Now Cann can’t help but wonder what other Black, female voices – or other little-known but deserving composers – may be going unheard.

“Florence Price changed it all for me,” Cann said. “She showed me that if such great music can go un-played, there’s probably a lot more out there being un-played. It got me thinking how I can be an inspiration and a voice of support. The narrative [for Black composers] is that they’re not there. But really, they just need that support.”

Cann has performed Price’s works with some of the most revered orchestras in the world. In July of 2021, she played Price’s Concerto in One Movement at Blossom Music Center with The Cleveland Orchestra, under the baton of Brett Mitchell.

“I was elated, thrilled,” Cann recalled of the experience. “There was a certain level of awe.”

Practicing at Severance Music Center in advance of the performance was another thrill. “When I walked into that space as the soloist, it hit me,” Cann said. “I’d wondered my whole life if this day would ever come.”

This past August, Cann returned to CIM as part of Piano Cleveland’s Piano Days. On a recital that included works by Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Clara Schumann and another Black woman, Margaret Bonds, she also shared two of Price’s least-known works, her Sonata in E and Fantasie Nègre No. 1.

Not long before, Cann was at CIM to accept another great thing the world has offered her: the 2022 Alumni Achievement Award, one of CIM’s highest honors, which recognizes significant professional contributions to the field of music.

“A big part of my success can be attributed to my time [at CIM],” said Cann. “I feel like I have this school to thank for a really strong foundation and a love for music-making and collaboration.” •