William Ford | 13 FEB 2026
Grammy Award–winning soprano Karen Slack has built a wide-ranging career that spans opera, concert, and recital stages, combining a powerful, expressive instrument with a thoughtful sense of artistic purpose. A Philadelphia native and Curtis Institute graduate, Slack recently earned the 2025 Grammy Award for Beyond the Years: Unpublished Songs of Florence Price, recorded with pianist Michelle Cann.
Slack and Cann will perform a recital at Spivey Hall tomorrow afternoon, February 14, 2026, drawn from their Beyond the Years: Unpublished Songs of Florence Price album.
William Ford recently spoke with Ms. Slack about her career, artistry, and her work on Florence Price. In this conversation, Slack reflects on her early musical formation, her training, her artistic influences, and her commitment to placing Florence Price alongside the great song composers of the tradition.
The conversation below has been edited for clarity and flow.
William Ford: I always like to begin with childhood influences. Where were you born?
Karen Slack: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
WF: How did singing begin for you?
KS: I sang all my life. My parents loved music, so we went to concerts constantly. My first was probably Earth, Wind & Fire when I was three or four. I saw Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, all the great Sounds of Philadelphia artists. Live music was normal in our house.
I played violin briefly in fourth grade but preferred choir. I had a good ear and strong rhythm, and my teacher recognized that early. By sixth grade I was leading the Star-Spangled Banner. Classical music wasn’t part of my upbringing, but I listened to it on the radio. I never imagined it as a career.
In middle school my teacher noticed how mature my voice was—big, high, powerful. I didn’t grow up singing gospel, so my sound was more head-driven. She pushed me to audition for the performing arts high school. David King introduced me to the recordings of Maria Callas and Jessye Norman at fourteen. Then at fifteen I saw Denyce Graves sing Carmen in Philadelphia. That’s when I knew I wanted to sing opera.
WF: What did you think the first time you heard opera?
KS: I thought it was the greatest thing I’d ever heard. I didn’t understand it technically, but I knew it was extraordinary. Hearing Callas sing “Casta Diva”—I didn’t know what it was, but I knew I wanted to make those sounds.
WF: How did your community respond to your ambitions?
KS: I always had support. My husband is my childhood sweetheart; he was the first person I told I’d be an opera singer. My parents said, “As long as you’re doing something positive.”
It wasn’t strange because I was always singing. At church I joined the adult choir at fifteen because my voice was too strong for the kids’ choir. The music director let me sing arias just to get it out. Music—especially classical music—has always been in my life.
WF: Was your voice something you were born with, or something developed?
KS: I was born with my gift. No one had to teach me how to make a sound. I was always expressive—sometimes too expressive. But being natural can be dangerous. You can train the natural out of the instrument, or under-train and lose control. I’ve been fortunate to have teachers who protected both.
WF: Tell me about your formal training.
KS: I spent a year at the University of Hartford, then won the Rosa Ponselle Competition at eighteen and moved to New York to study with Igor Chichagov, Rosa Ponselle’s conductor and coach. He trained me old school—trills, pianissimo at the top, coloratura.
Then I went to Curtis for six years. After that came the Maryland Opera Studio and the Adler Fellowship at San Francisco Opera.
WF: When you arrived at Curtis already advanced, what did they add?
KS: I had talent and operatic technique, but there were gaps—repertoire, art song, Lieder, languages. Curtis filled those holes. Michael Eliason also taught me how to be an artist in the world—travel, culture, perspective. That education mattered as much as the singing.
WF: What was the goal with language study?
KS: Understanding. You can’t just sing your part—you must understand the language and everyone else’s role. And you must understand how language evolves: Mozart Italian differs from Verdi; verismo differs again. Language shapes interpretation.
Post-pandemic I chose to focus more on recital and concert work. It’s difficult to maintain both opera and recital at a high level simultaneously.
WF: Who is your artistic hero?
KS: Jessye Norman. She had the complete career and was an ambassador for the arts. I was fortunate to hear many great singers at the end of their careers—Renée Fleming, Denyce Graves, Deborah Voigt, Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Dmitri once encouraged me during a tough rehearsal. Those experiences stay with you.
WF: You recently won a Grammy for Beyond the Years, your Florence Price album.
KS: Yes.
WF: What did that mean to you?
KS: Recording Florence Price was intentional. I was asked what I wanted for my first album, and I chose her. To win for her music—and to win with Michelle Cann, who has long championed this repertoire—was very special.
WF: Why pair Price with Schubert and Ravel in recital?
KS: I want Florence Price to stand next to the greatest song composers of all time. I don’t have to argue for her greatness—I can show it. If Schubert is the greatest art song composer, then Florence Price belongs in that same company.
WF: Thanks so much for taking the time from your busy schedule to talk.
KS: It was good talking with you. Thanks. ■
Soprano Karen Slack and pianist Michelle Cann perform at Spivey Hall this Saturday, February 14 at 3:00pm. This interview was conducted by William E. Ford for Atlanta Music Critic and appears here in collaboration with EarRelevant.
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Karen Slack: sopranokarenslack.com
- Spivey Hall: spiveyhall.org
Read more by William Ford.
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