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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), SOPRANO MICHELE KENNEDY is a versatile specialist in early and new music. Her recent concert venues include Carnegie Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, Getty Museum, Lincoln Center, and Washington National Cathedral.

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Michele has been a featured soloist in Bach’s St. John Passion with The San Francisco Symphony Chorus & Duke University Singers, Handel’s Messiah with Trinity Wall Street Choir, Poulenc’s Gloria with The Bach Society of Saint Louis, Undine Smith Moore's MLK Oratorio at U.C. Berkeley, in the ‘Summer Fireworks’ of Handel and Purcell with Portland Baroque Orchestra, and in her Carnegie Hall debut with The Hollywood Film Orchestra. Up next, she'll sing Messiah (St. Louis Bach Society), the Bach Magnificat (SF Symphony), and will debut with San Francisco Bach Choir as a soloist in the B Minor Mass. Her singing is highlighted on two upcoming new albums: Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with The Thirteen and Dark Horse Consort, and In Her Hands with Agave Baroque, a compilation of works by trailblazing female composers from over the ages.

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A lifelong advocate of new works, Michele has sung premieres with Experiments in Opera, Harlem Stage Opera, Mimesis Ensemble, Five Boroughs Music Festival, and The New York Philharmonic. This season, she is part of a world premiere tour of Julia Wolfe’s Her Story - a celebration of women’s civil rights - with Lorelei Ensemble and 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, and in the field at large.

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A graduate of Yale University and NYU, Michele is committed to working toward greater equity and representation for BIPOC, LGBTQ, and female voices. A lifelong lover of Redwoods and Bay vistas, Michele lives in Oakland with her husband, visual artist Benjamin Thorpe, and their daughter, Audra May.

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