John Kennedy (American musician)
musician (20th century)
John Kennedy (born April 7, 1959) is an American conductor and composer. He has worked across the United States, collaborating with contemporary composers and leading ensembles and festivals, including Spoleto Festival USA. Kennedy is known for his long commitment to new music and for conducting the world premiere of the Pulitzer Prize–winning opera Omar in 2022.
Biography
Originally a percussionist from Minnesota who was trained at the Oberlin Conservatory and Northwestern University, Kennedy lived in New York City from 1984 to 1999. Kennedy co-founded and led the new music ensemble Essential Music, a group of flexible instrumentation which from 1987 to 2001 led a broad traversal of the American experimental tradition and presented several concerts. During this period Kennedy had an association with John Cage, reviving a number of Cage's early works, including restoring the Kenneth Patchen radio play The City Wears a Slouch Hat. Kennedy also led the rediscoveries of the music of Johanna M. Beyer and William Russell in performances and recordings by Essential Music.
Santa Fe and American Music Center
Kennedy lived in Santa Fe from 1999 to 2012, where he founded Santa Fe New Music. From 2002-2005, he served as artist President/Chair of the American Music Center.
Spoleto Festival USA
Kennedy had a long association with Spoleto Festival USA, leading the contemporary music component since 1990 and over time, assuming a wider role in the orchestra and opera programs. His curation featured many underrepresented composers before they were more widely performed.
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This entry incorporates text from “John Kennedy (American musician)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.