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Martin Kennedy (composer)

British-born American composer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Martin Kennedy (born March 24, 1978) is a pianist and composer of contemporary classical music.

Early life and education

Martin Kennedy was born in Wakefield, England to Barry and Ann Kennedy, and moved with them as a young child to the United States. He grew up in Pennsylvania and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he attended Central High School. As a youth, he played piano and composed pieces for the Tuscaloosa Children's Theatre, Theatre Tuscaloosa and the Frank M. Moody Concert Hall, winning national awards and recognition for his work.[1] He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance and composition, as well as a Master of Music in composition, from the Jacobs School of Music. In 2005, he received his Doctorate in Music Composition from the Juilliard School where he studied as a C.V. Starr fellow under Milton Babbitt and Samuel Adler.[1][2]

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Career

After receiving his doctorate, Kennedy became assistant professor of theory and composition at the Department of Music in Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.[1] He has written extensively for orchestra, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments,[2] working with Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra music director Shin-ik Hahm and pianist Molly Morkoski.[1] In 2015, Kennedy was director of composition and theory at the music department of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington.[3][4] In 2023, he wrote a “Bandshell Fanfare” for the 100th Anniversary of the Naumburg Bandshell’s opening, performed at the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series. [5]

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Awards and recognition

Kennedy's awards include first prize in the '2 Agosto' International Composing Competition,[6] five ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards,[1][2] a BMI Young Composer Award, the 1999 Raymond Hubbel award,[7] the Indiana University Dean's Prize in composition in 1998 and 2002,[1] the 2010 ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Prize for Best Orchestral Work,[8] the Suzanne and Lee Ettleson Prize, an Aaron Copland Award, and residencies at the MacDowell[9] and Yaddo artist colonies. He was Composer-In-Residence for the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. His music is published by Theodore Presser Company[2][7] and G. Schirmer Inc.

Selected works

Orchestral works

  • Drift (2021)
  • Forest Dark and Stars Above (2018)
  • Siren, blind (2016)
  • Three Pieces for Orchestra (1999)

Concerti

  • Pull Pin and Throw for trombone and orchestra (2021)
  • Violin Concerto (2020)
  • Sonata for violin and orchestra (John Corigliano, arr. Kennedy) (2012)
  • Trivial Pursuits for violin and orchestra (2009)
  • Piano Concerto (2008)
  • Totentanz for violin and orchestra (Franz Liszt, arr. Kennedy and Lara St. John) (2007)[1]
  • Flute Concerto (1999)

Chamber music

  • Dry Falls for two guitars (2021)
  • An Affirmation for chamber choir (2015)
  • Distant Channels for bass trombone and percussion (2014)
  • Czardashian Rhapsody (arr.) for violin and piano (2013)
  • Desplazamiento for piccolo and piano (2013)[4]
  • Trivial Pursuits for violin and piano (2009)
  • Four Songs for flute and piano (1998)[10]
  • These Parting Gifts for two violins and piano (1997)[2]
  • Souvenir for flute and piano (1995)[1]
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External links

References

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