Candice Hoyes

Bio

Candice Hoyes is New York-based soprano whose illustrious career in opera-song, sacred music, soul and jazz reaches a peak on Expecting, a newly self-released solo album. It finds the vocalist collaborating with the cream of Black American Music instrumentalists, including bassist Junius Paul, pianist Sullivan Fortner, and the late Casey Benjamin. Hoyes is also the member of Nite Bjuti, a Caribbean-roots, improvising trio with percussionist Val Jeanty and bassist Mimi Jones; their latest work is minwi. Additionally, Hoyes currently performs with Rotary Connection 222, a Chicago-based repertoire ensemble dedicated to the music of the late Charles Stepney, whose song provides the title of and the grounding to Hoyes’ new album. Previously, she received critical praise for her work with choir master Damien Sneed and the Chorale Le Chateau on the recording of Wynton Marsalis’ The Abyssinian Mass; and for her work researching and interpreting Duke Ellington’s sacred music for the 2015 album, On a Turquoise Cloud. Hoyes is often recognized as the subject of portraitist Amy Sherrald’s painting, “As Soft As She Is” (2022).