About John M. Kennedy
The breadth of John M. Kennedy’s work reflects his early background as a rock and jazz bassist, and an entire career of exploring new ideas and concepts in his music. With the political climate in recent years, his work shifted toward themes of social justice. In April, 2023 one of two large scale projects, "Sidewalks” for singer, multimedia, and ensemble, premiered in Los Angeles. The work promotes empathy for those around us by highlighting the sounds of the region. In 2024 his group improvisation called "Un Día en la Playa", a site specific piece with two ensembles positioned on opposite sides of the border wall at El Muro en la Playa, Tijuana, Mexico, and Border State Beach, Imperial Beach, California, USA, will be premiered. EQUINOX his first EP, which includes “Mnemonic Meditations Book I” for solo trumpet, James Ford III soloist, and “Breath, Smoke, Crystals” for solo alto saxophone, Tong Yang, is now available at Soundset Recordings, iTunes, Spotify and Pandora.
His art sustained him through the global pandemic when he completed “Mnemonic Meditations, Book 1”, “Chaconne Part 2” for mixed sextet, “Triticco Siciliano” for solo guitar, “Folios I” for indeterminant percussion quintet, two works for solo double bass, “Proto-HautaAho-moto perpetuo” (2020) and “Inserts” (2021), and “Matins” (2020) for solo piano. Several of these works were premiered during the pandemic, including “Matins” by Canadian pianist Heather Taves during a livestream recital at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada in April, 2021 (with 5 original paintings by Satik Andriassian), “Proto-HautaAho-moto perpetuo” (2020) in June 2021 by Susan Hagen at the International Society of Bassists virtual conference, and the live European premiere of “Chaconne Part 1” (2019) by Ensemble KammerKlang, Norway, August 2020.
Recent career highlights include the premieres of “Songs, Improvisations, Refrains” (2023) for fixed media and singer by bass-baritone Nicholas Isherwood in Los Angeles, and at June in Buffalo, "Monument Li Dwerja" (2021) by Welsh baritone Jeremy Huw Williams and American pianist Paula Fan in Los Angeles, November, 2021, "Inserts" by the CSULA String Orchestra, October, 2021, the 2019 release of his “Yer-(2012)” for solo flute by Rita D’Arcangelo in Italy, and the premiere of “Chaconne-Part 1” for mixed sextet by the French group TM+ (2019). His work has been performed throughout the US and Europe, including World Saxophone Congresses in Scotland and Zagreb; in Malta by members of the Malta Philharmonic and the Armed Forces Malta Band; Interensemble of Padova, Italy; the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble; the Salzburg Mozarteum; and new music festivals in Bangkok, Kwang-ju and Daegu. As a double bassist he premiered William Roper’s “New-Opened Eyes-1965” memorializing the Watts Riots in February 2019, and in June 2019 premiered Roper’s entire graphic score suite, "Experience > Dream > Memory - Slivers of Time”. In April, 2021 he returned to double bass and electric bass performance in Jack Van Zandt’s opera “The New Frontier” at the CSU Fullerton New Music Festival.
Kennedy received a Fulbright Scholar Award in 2017 to spend a semester teaching at the University of Malta. In addition to lectures in composition and American musical styles, he was asked to write a work for brass and percussion commemorating the arrival of the SS Ohio to Malta, breaking a WWII blockade of the island nation. The work premiered in Malta on August 14, 2017, the 75th anniversary of the arrival. Kennedy has made significant contributions to the saxophone literature and two of these works were performed at the 2018 World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb, Croatia: the premiere of “Breath, Smoke, Crystals” for solo saxophone by Tong Yang of China, and “Lamentations: Hayasdan'' for saxophones and piano by Dionisios Russos of Greece. Early recognition for his work includes the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and a Young Composer Award from ASCAP. His work has been recognized by Meet the Composer (Now New Music USA), ASCAP Plus Awards and Subito Grants from the American Composers Forum, Los Angeles. A faculty member of California State University, Los Angeles since 1994, he received the President’s Distinguished Professor Award in 2021. At the University of Michigan, he studied music composition with Leslie Bassett, William Albright, and Fred Lerdahl, and double bass with Lawrence Hurst, and Stuart Sankey. For more information on his work, please visit www.johnmkennedy.net, or follow him on Facebook (@johnmkennedycomposer).
His art sustained him through the global pandemic when he completed “Mnemonic Meditations, Book 1”, “Chaconne Part 2” for mixed sextet, “Triticco Siciliano” for solo guitar, “Folios I” for indeterminant percussion quintet, two works for solo double bass, “Proto-HautaAho-moto perpetuo” (2020) and “Inserts” (2021), and “Matins” (2020) for solo piano. Several of these works were premiered during the pandemic, including “Matins” by Canadian pianist Heather Taves during a livestream recital at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada in April, 2021 (with 5 original paintings by Satik Andriassian), “Proto-HautaAho-moto perpetuo” (2020) in June 2021 by Susan Hagen at the International Society of Bassists virtual conference, and the live European premiere of “Chaconne Part 1” (2019) by Ensemble KammerKlang, Norway, August 2020.
Recent career highlights include the premieres of “Songs, Improvisations, Refrains” (2023) for fixed media and singer by bass-baritone Nicholas Isherwood in Los Angeles, and at June in Buffalo, "Monument Li Dwerja" (2021) by Welsh baritone Jeremy Huw Williams and American pianist Paula Fan in Los Angeles, November, 2021, "Inserts" by the CSULA String Orchestra, October, 2021, the 2019 release of his “Yer-(2012)” for solo flute by Rita D’Arcangelo in Italy, and the premiere of “Chaconne-Part 1” for mixed sextet by the French group TM+ (2019). His work has been performed throughout the US and Europe, including World Saxophone Congresses in Scotland and Zagreb; in Malta by members of the Malta Philharmonic and the Armed Forces Malta Band; Interensemble of Padova, Italy; the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble; the Salzburg Mozarteum; and new music festivals in Bangkok, Kwang-ju and Daegu. As a double bassist he premiered William Roper’s “New-Opened Eyes-1965” memorializing the Watts Riots in February 2019, and in June 2019 premiered Roper’s entire graphic score suite, "Experience > Dream > Memory - Slivers of Time”. In April, 2021 he returned to double bass and electric bass performance in Jack Van Zandt’s opera “The New Frontier” at the CSU Fullerton New Music Festival.
Kennedy received a Fulbright Scholar Award in 2017 to spend a semester teaching at the University of Malta. In addition to lectures in composition and American musical styles, he was asked to write a work for brass and percussion commemorating the arrival of the SS Ohio to Malta, breaking a WWII blockade of the island nation. The work premiered in Malta on August 14, 2017, the 75th anniversary of the arrival. Kennedy has made significant contributions to the saxophone literature and two of these works were performed at the 2018 World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb, Croatia: the premiere of “Breath, Smoke, Crystals” for solo saxophone by Tong Yang of China, and “Lamentations: Hayasdan'' for saxophones and piano by Dionisios Russos of Greece. Early recognition for his work includes the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and a Young Composer Award from ASCAP. His work has been recognized by Meet the Composer (Now New Music USA), ASCAP Plus Awards and Subito Grants from the American Composers Forum, Los Angeles. A faculty member of California State University, Los Angeles since 1994, he received the President’s Distinguished Professor Award in 2021. At the University of Michigan, he studied music composition with Leslie Bassett, William Albright, and Fred Lerdahl, and double bass with Lawrence Hurst, and Stuart Sankey. For more information on his work, please visit www.johnmkennedy.net, or follow him on Facebook (@johnmkennedycomposer).
Background Painting by Satik Andriassian