Artist Bios

Michelle Cann

piano

“A compelling, sparkling virtuoso” (Boston Music Intelligencer), pianist Michelle Cann made her orchestral debut at age 14 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 Sy mphony 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 U.S., 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., 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 are 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 Sistemainspired 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. ●

Roberto Minczuk

Music Director

In 2017, GRAMMY ® Award-winning conductor Roberto Minczuk was appointed Music Director of the New Mexico Philharmonic and of the Theatro Municipal Orchestra of São Paulo. He is also Music Director Laureate of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (Canada) and Conductor Emeritus of the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira (Rio de Janeiro). In Calgary, he recently completed a 10-year tenure as Music Director, becoming the longest-running Music Director in the orchestra’s history.

Highlights of Minczuk’s recent seasons include the complete Mahler Symphony Cycle with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra; Bach’s St. John Passion, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7, Beethoven’s Fidelio, Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Verdi’s La traviata, Bernstein’s Mass, and Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier with the Theatro Municipal Orchestra of São Paulo; debuts with the Cincinnati Opera (Mozart’s Don Giovanni), the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and Daejeon Philharmonic in South Korea; and return engagements with the Orchestra National de Lille and the New York City Ballet. In the 2016/2017 season, he made return visits to the Israel Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Teatro Colón Philharmonic and Orchestra Estable of Buenos Aires.

A protégé and close colleague of the late Kurt Masur, Minczuk debuted with the New York Philharmonic in 1998, and by 2002 was Associate Conductor, having worked closely with both Kurt Masur and Lorin Maazel. He has since conducted more than 100 orchestras worldwide, including the New York, Los Angeles, Israel, London, Tokyo, Oslo, and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestras; the London, San Francisco, Dallas, and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras; and the National Radio (France), Philadelphia, and Cleveland Orchestras, among many others. In March 2006, he led the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s U.S. tour, winning accolades for his leadership of the orchestra in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Until 2010, Minczuk held the post of Music Director and Artistic Director of the Opera and Orchestra of the Theatro Municipal Rio de Janeiro, and, until 2005, he served as Principal Guest Conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, where he previously held the position of Co-Artistic Director. Other previous posts include Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Ribeirão Preto Symphony, Principal Conductor of the Brasília University Symphony, and a six-year tenure as Artistic Director of the Campos do Jordão International Winter Festival.

Minczuk’s recording of the complete Bachianas Brasileiras of Hector Villa- Lobos with the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (BIS label) won the Gramophone Award of Excellence in 2012 for best recording of this repertoire. His other recordings include Danzas Brasileiras, which features rare works by Brazilian composers of the 20th century, and the Complete Symphonic Works of

Antonio Carlos Jobim, which won a Latin GRAMMY in 2004 and was nominated for an American GRAMMY in 2006. His three recordings with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra include Rhapsody in Blue: The Best of George Gershwin and Beethoven Symphonies 1, 3, 5, and 8. Other recordings include works by Ravel, Piazzolla, Martin, and Tomasi with the London Philharmonic (released by Naxos), and four recordings with the Academic Orchestra of the Campos do Jordão International Winter Festival, including works by Dvořák, Mussorgsky, and Tchaikovsky. Other projects include a 2010 DVD recording with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, featuring the premiere of Hope: An Oratorio, composed by Jonathan Leshnoff; a 2011 recording with the Odense Symphony of Poul Ruders’s Symphony No. 4, which was featured as a Gramophone Choice in March 2012; and a recording of Tchaikovsky’s Italian Capriccio with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, which accompanied the June 2010 edition of BBC Music Magazine. The Academic Orchestra of the Campos do Jordão Festival was the Carlos Gomes prizewinner for its recording from the 2005 Festival, which also garnered the TIM Award for best classical album.

Roberto Minczuk has received numerous awards, including a 2004 Emmy for the program New York City Ballet—Lincoln Center Celebrates Balanchine 100; a 2001 Martin E. Segal Award that recognizes Lincoln Center’s most promising young artists; and several honors in his native country of Brazil, including two best conductor awards from the São Paulo Association of Art Critics and the coveted title of Cultural Personality of the Year. In 2009, he was awarded the Medal Pedro Ernesto, the highest commendation of the City of Rio de Janeiro, and in 2010, he received the Order of the Ipiranga State Government of São Paulo. In 2017, Minczuk received the Medal of Commander of Arts and Culture from the Brazilian government. A child prodigy, Minczuk was a professional musician by the age of 13. He was admitted into the prestigious Juilliard School at 14 and by the age of 16, he had joined the Orchestra Municipal de São Paulo as solo horn. During his Juilliard years, he appeared as soloist with the New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts series. Upon his graduation in 1987, he became a member of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra at the invitation of Kurt Masur. Returning to Brazil in 1989, he studied conducting with Eleazar de Carvalho and John Neschling. He won several awards as a young horn player, including the Mill Santista Youth Award in 1991 and I Eldorado Music. ●

Hannah Stephens soprano Lyric coloratura soprano Hannah Stephens resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her 6-year-old daughter, Amelia. Miss Stephens sang a stunning Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with the New Mexico Philharmonic in 2017. She returned to the orchestra in March 2020 for Mozart’s Great Mass in c minor, and is now overjoyed to be with them once again for Orff’s incredible work Carmina Burana. Hannah’s successes in concert include Gorecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder, Schoenberg’s String Quartet No. 2, and Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras. With a voice known for its clarity and precision, she has become a favorite vocalist among several contemporary composers with whom she is now working on various new works.

Miss Stephens has the versatility to sing in a variety of styles and is equally at home on the operatic stage. Some past highlights of her operatic career include the roles of the Queen of the Night, Musetta, and Gilda. She has sung with West Bay Opera, Pocket Opera, and Lyric Opera of Weimar. After her debut of Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina with West Edge Opera, critic Victor Cordell for ForAllEvents wrote, “Hannah Stephens’s soprano is light and bright as Poppea. The opera is replete with challenging coloratura and staccato passages for which her voice is particularly effective.”

Born in the United Kingdom, Miss Stephens is a dual citizen and received her Master’s degree in vocal performance from Indiana University, studying with Carlos Montané, and her Bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico, studying with Marilyn Tyler. She currently attends the University of New Mexico School of Law. ●

Sam Shepperson

tenor

Sam Shepperson is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and is currently the director of the Opera Theatre at UNM. Active in opera, oratorio, and art song, he has been a soloist with such groups as the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Fe Symphony, Music in the Mountains, the Orchestra of Santa Fe, the Colorado Opera Festival, Opera Southwest, Emerald City Opera, and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and he has performed numerous roles with the UNM Opera Theater as well as the role of Ben Budge in the Santa Fe Opera’s production of The Beggar’s Opera.

For several years, Sam toured a production for the Santa Fe Opera outreach program. His opera résumé includes such roles as Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Pedrillo in The Abduction from the Seraglio, Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Leo in Regina, Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri, Camille in The Merry Widow, Almaviva in The Barber of Seville, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, Dr. Caius in Falstaff, and Little Bat in Susannah. His oratorio résumé includes Judas in Judas Maccabeus, Samson in Samson, tenor soloist in Carmina Burana, Florentino in Cantata Criolla, and standard repertoire such as Messiah, Elijah, The Seasons, Mozart’s Requiem, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

He has appeared under the baton of Margaret Hillis, Neal Stulberg, William Kirschke, John Crosby, Donald Neuen, Stewart Robertson, Michael Butterman, Guillermo Figueroa, Anthony Barrese, and Jorge Pérez-Gómez. In summer 1995, he made his international debut as tenor soloist in Haydn’s “Lord Nelson” Mass with the Symphony of the Americas. In 2012, he made his Lincoln Center debut in New York as tenor soloist in René Clausen’s Requiem. ●

Hugh Russell

baritone

Baritone Hugh Russell has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Houston Symphony, National Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Danish Radio Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Orchestre Métropolitain (Montréal), Cincinnati Symphony, and Kansas City Symphony, among many others.

He has been honored to work with many eminent conductors, including Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Jaap van Zweden, Charles Dutoit, Leonard Slatkin, Manfred Honeck, Edo de Waart, Kent Nagano, Donald Runnicles, Steuart Bedford, Michael Christie, Hans Graf, Carlos Miguel Prieto, and Rossen Milanov.

Operatically, he has been featured in productions at Los Angeles Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Atlanta Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Arizona Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Vancouver Opera, Calgary Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Manitoba Opera, the Wexford Festival, and Angers- Nantes Opera. Hugh has been featured in recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and in many appearances with the New York Festival of Song.

As a pianist, he has been featured in performance with Stephanie Blythe at a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Seattle Opera and has also been featured in performance with Christine Brewer for Illinois Humanities. In the current season, Hugh has been featured in performances with pianist Craig Terry and in The Merry Widow with Calgary Opera. He will return to North Carolina Opera to perform Papageno in Die Zauberflöte and will also return to the New Mexico Philharmonic and the Sun Valley Music Festival to perform his signature work, Orff’s Carmina Burana. ●

New Mexico Symphonic Chorus

The 2021/2022 season marks the 49th anniversary of this highly select, allvolunteer chorus and its 11th season with the name New Mexico Symphonic Chorus. Under Roger Melone’s direction since 1983, the chorus, formerly known as the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Chorus, has gained national renown.

In 1999, the chorus received the Albuquerque Arts Alliance Bravo Award for Excellence in Musical Performance for its 1998 performances of Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. In 2006, Christopher Seaman, music director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, invited the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Chorus to perform Mozart’s Requiem with his orchestra at the 2006 Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Accolades from the audience, conductor, and orchestra were overwhelming, leading to return engagements in 2007, 2008, and 2011 to perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Local artistic collaborations include Verdi’s Aida in 2015 and Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers in 2014, both with Opera Southwest; Holiday Festival of Voices at Popejoy Hall in 2013 and 2014 with the Albuquerque Youth Symphony Program; and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” with the New Mexico Philharmonic in 2012.

The volunteer members of the chorus are a diverse group. Among the singers, approximately 16 are professional musicians working in music-related fields, 34 hold degrees in music, and seven maintain private teaching studios. All of the singers have studied voice, are currently studying voice, or play an instrument. Some travel from as far as Santa Fe and Socorro to sing in the chorus. ●

Roger Melone

director

Music director of the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus, Roger Melone was previously Resident Conductor and Chorus Director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra (NMSO). Since arriving in Albuquerque in 1983, Melone has brought national acclaim to the NMSO Chorus, now known as the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus.

Under Melone’s direction, the NMSO Chorus performed at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Mr. Melone led the chorus to triumphant performances, first with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006 and then in 2007 and 2008 with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

As Resident Conductor of the NMSO, Mr. Melone conducted subscription, tour, pops, and children’s concerts. The NMSO Chorus received the Albuquerque Arts Alliance Bravo Award for Music Excellence for its 1998 performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast. In 1994, Mr. Melone was awarded the prestigious Albuquerque Arts Alliance Bravo Award for excellence in the arts. He continues to develop the talents of the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus, whose performances have been described as “stunning” and “riveting” by national critics.

Prior to his tenure at the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Melone held similar posts with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra. He attended Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he studied with Ronald Shirey. He then studied with B.R. Henson at Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth, Texas. In San Francisco, Mr. Melone studied Baroque performance practices and harpsichord with Laurette Goldberg. ●