A Contemporary Voice for Early Music
SOPRANO MICHELE KENNEDY is a versatile specialist in early classical and new music. Praised by The Washington Post as “a fine young soprano with a lovely voice” possessing “a graceful tonal clarity that is a wonder to hear” (SF Chronicle), Michele’s recent venues include Carnegie Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, Bard Summerscape, Getty Museum, Lincoln Center, Powell Symphony Hall, and Washington National Cathedral.
Michele’s recent highlights include the Bach Magnificat and St. John Passion, with San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Handel Messiah with Trinity Wall Street, NYC, Poulenc Gloria with The Bach Society of Saint Louis, and Undine Smith Moore’s Scenes from the Life of a Martyr at UC Berkeley. She’s presented The Monteverdi Vespers with Dark Horse Consort & Voices of Ascension, Bach Cantatas w/ American Classical Orchestra, and Caccini/Strozzi works with Folger Consort, alongside Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with SF Ballet. She debuted with Agave Baroque in a feministic recital, In Her Hands – and will join Portland Baroque Orchestra in June for some Handelian Fireworks.
Michele’s new music adventures include Aaron Siegel’s I Will Tell You The Truth About This at NYC’s Schomburg Center and Florence Price songs + a premiere by Dina Shilleh in recital with Mimesis Ensemble at Carnegie Hall. In 2020-21, she debuted with Ars Minerva, Les Délices, Alexander String Quartet, and Opera Lafayette in trailblazing digital forums. Next up will be her solo debuts with The Alexander String Quartet, Shenandoah Bach Festival, and at the American Guild of Organists Conference. After debuting Julia Wolfe’s Fire In My Mouth w/The Crossing & NY Philharmonic in 2019, Michele will tour the 2022 world premiere of Wolfe’s Her Story with Lorelei Ensemble and the Nashville, SF, Boston, Chicago, & National Symphony Orchestras.
A graduate of Yale University and NYU, Michele is committed to working toward greater equity and representation for BBI, LGBTQ, and female voices across the field. A lover of redwoods and bay vistas, Michele lives in Oakland with her husband, visual artist Benjamin Thorpe, and their daughter, Audra May.
