Michele E Kennedy

Member

Biography

Praised as “an excellent and impassioned” soprano possessing "a graceful tonal clarity that is a wonder to hear" (San Francisco Chronicle), MICHELE KENNEDY is a versatile specialist in early and new music. Her recent concert venues include Carnegie Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, The Getty Museum, Lincoln Center, and Washington National Cathedral. She is a Winner of the 2023 American Prize in Voice.

In high demand across the country, Michele has been a featured soloist in Bach’s St. John Passion with Voices of Music and The San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Handel’s Messiah with New York City’s Trinity Wall Street Choir, Poulenc’s Gloria and Handel’s Messiah with The Bach Society of Saint Louis, Undine Smith Moore's MLK Oratorio at U.C. Berkeley, and in her Carnegie Hall mainstage debut with The Hollywood Film Orchestra. Michele recently debuted with Portland Baroque Orchestra in the ‘Summer Fireworks’ of Handel and Purcell, with San Francisco Ballet in Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, with Miami’s Seraphic Fire and Cleveland’s Les Délices. She will soon debut with SF's Masterworks Chorale in Mozart's Requiem and Bach's Magnificat, and with DC’s Washington Bach Consort in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung. Her singing is highlighted on a new recording of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with The Thirteen and Dark Horse Consort, and in her solo debut album with AGAVE – called In Her Hands – showcasing an extraordinary range of female composers from over the ages, from Barbara Strozzi and Pauline Viardot to Florence Price and Margaret Bonds.

A lifelong advocate of new works, Michele has sung premieres with Experiments in Opera, Harlem Stage Opera, The Crossing Choir, and The New York Philharmonic.  This year, she is traveling with Lorelei Ensemble in a world premiere tour of Julia Wolfe’s Her Story – an outspoken celebration of women’s civil rights – in concert with the Nashville, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras. She is also a member of Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble: a group of early and contemporary music specialists that champions the voices of women and artists of color on the stage.

Michele completed her musical studies at Yale University, Yale School of Music, and New York University. A lover of redwood groves and bay vistas, she lives in Oakland with her husband, visual artist Benjamin Thorpe, and their daughter, Audra May. Please find more at www.michele-kennedy.com.