Cleary Celebrates Black History Month With Candice Hoyes

Cleary Gottlieb hosted its Black History Month celebration, Music and the Power of Social Change: A Conversation With Candice Hoyes, music artist and social activist.

Managing Partner Michael Gerstenzang delivered welcome remarks, and associate Marvellous Iheukwumere moderated the discussion.

Candice Hoyes discussed her life and career using music to teach African American history and invoke social change. Born to Jamaican parents, Candice is a performance artist and archivist mutually steeped in exploring the untold stories of her heritage and envisioning the next leg of Black liberation. After graduating Harvard University and earning a J.D. from Columbia University, she began composing after initiating her career in both jazz and classical music, winning at the Paul Robeson International Voice Competition, International Liszt Vocal Competition, and Oratorio Society of NY. Her recent works include Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 2022 NYC JazzFest, Detroit Symphony, the Blue Note, and collaborations with Chaka Khan, Amy Sherald, Theaster Gates, Philip Glass, Wynton Marsalis, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Her most recent singles with her band Nite Bjuti culminates in a full album in April 2023. Candice’s EP Blue Lagoon Woman is regaled in Carnegie Hall’s 2022 Timeline of African American Music and exemplifies several Afrofuturist characteristics.

As an activist, she was commissioned in 2020 by Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote and National Black Theater to create performance art to mobilize Black voters. Candice is also a TED alumna and serial lecturer at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Cleary is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. The firm regularly hosts important cultural events and guest speakers whose presentations afford opportunities to broaden awareness, heighten the level of discussion, and establish a culture of inclusion at the firm. To learn more about Cleary’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, click here.