Philadelphia musicians up for Grammys Best Classical Solo Vocal Album for album honoring composer Florence Price

Karen Slack, a soprano vocalist, and Michelle Cann, a pianist and professor at the Curtis Institute of Music, collaborated on “Beyond the Years,” a project that highlights the works of Florence Price, a trailblazing Black composer and pianist whose contributions were largely unrecognized during her lifetime.

“Florence Price has been such an inspiration to me,” Cann said. “I can’t compare her to really anyone else because she writes from her heart.”

Slack echoed that sentiment. “Every song sounds timeless,” she said.

Born in 1887, Price became the first Black woman to have her compositions performed by a major U.S. symphony orchestra. Despite this accomplishment, much of her work remained unpublished and overlooked due to the racial and gender barriers of her time.

“At the time, Black women — Black composers — were not being spotlighted, were not being published,” Slack said.

The album was created in partnership with ONEcomposer, an organization dedicated to amplifying underrepresented musical voices. Cann and Slack worked with the cofounders Tamara Acosta and Stephen Spinelli to carefully select 19 of Price’s compositions for voice and piano from a collection of more than 145 original manuscripts.

“We went back and forth to choose which ones were the best for the album,” Slack said.

“Beyond the Years” is ONEComposer’s inaugural album and marks Slack’s solo debut.

“These are tried and true art songs that can hold up against Schubert and Brahms,” Slack said.

Cann, who contributed to a Grammy-winning album featuring Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement, is now celebrating her first individual Grammy nomination.

“Oh, I was just so overjoyed,” she said. “I was so excited at the idea of getting out to LA and being with other celebrated artists in the field.”

Cann also said she hopes the Academy’s MusiCares program can bring awareness, and hopefully donations, to music professionals affected by the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.

“What the [Recording Academy] decided is that we are just such a big platform, we can take this opportunity to raise money, raise awareness of what’s going on,” Cann said.

Both Slack and Cann expressed pride in representing Philadelphia at the Grammy Awards.

“Every opportunity — every triumph, I carry my city with me,” Slack said.

For Cann, the nomination is more proof of Price’s musical brilliance.

“It’s just yet another validation for the genius of Florence Price,” she said.

ONEComposer plans to make the scores for “Beyond the Years” available to the public this spring, continuing its mission to bring Price’s legacy to a wider audience.

The 2025 Grammy Awards will air Sunday on CBS.