Cedric Cannon, a renowned American baritone, is celebrated for his impressive versatility as a performer, effortlessly transitioning between operatic, musical theater, and concert stages. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Helen and James Garfield Cannon, he considers San Mateo, California, his hometown, where he attended elementary, middle, and high school.
Following his stint in the United States Navy, Cannon pursued his passion for music at San Francisco State University, majoring in vocal performance. He has been happily married to soprano La-Rose Saxon since 1995.
Cedric Cannon's professional concert debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra marked the beginning of his illustrious career, which has seen him perform with numerous world-renowned orchestras, including the Filarmonica De Montevideo, the Israel Kibbutz Orchestra, the Illinois Philharmonic, the Polish Radio Orchestra, and many more.
As a guest soloist, Cannon has appeared at the Pushkin Festival in Moscow, the Pawley's Island Musical Festival, and the New York Chorale Society at Carnegie Hall. He regularly performs in concert with pianist Leon Bates and his wife, La-Rose Saxon, in programs featuring Gershwin on Broadway and Gershwin by Request.
On the musical theater stage, Cannon has showcased his talents throughout North America, Asia, and Europe, taking on various roles, including Hamilton Lightfoot and Menuki in the off-Broadway production of In Dahomey, opposite Shirley Verrett. His other notable theater credits include Old Deuteronomy in Cats in Hamburg, Germany, Pish-Tush in the Mikado, starring Steve Allen, Husky Miller in Carmen Jones, Billy Bounce in the New York premiere of Leroy Jenkins' Jazz Opera Three Willies, Caid in Fangs with the New York Musical Theater Group, The Governor and Innkeeper in the National Tour of Man of La Mancha, and the Pirate King in the Pirates of Penzance.
Cedric Cannon made his Broadway debut as Sir Sagramore in the Music Fair production of Camelot, starring Robert Goulet, and workshopped the original musical "Goddess" as Balozi at the O'Neil Theater Conference. He has performed with the Oakland Opera in productions of The Barber of Seville, Madame Butterfly, and La Bohème, and with the San Francisco Pocket Opera, debuting in the title role of Eugene Onegin, Caspar in Der Freischutz, and Lord Cecil in Mary Stuart.
Cannon has also performed in productions of Porgy and Bess with the Houston Grand Opera in the role of Jake, Grand Rapids Opera, Edmonton Opera, Carolina Opera, New Orleans Opera, and New York City Opera in the role of Crown, Metropolitan Opera in the role of Robbins, and sang his first Porgy at the Frankfurt Opera, singing with the New York Harlem Opera. Since then, he has sung the role of Porgy throughout North America, Great Britain, Ireland, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
