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MusicConductingPraise for Kennedy's music:"A rising star... BAGHDAD is a solemn, stirring succession of tone clusters, drones and reiterative fragments that still manage to be deeply lyrical, surprisingly accessible... and powerful music, too."
"Kudos to Kennedy for writing singable, lyric vocal parts. “Trinity’ is a good work —musical, well-paced, adaptable for performance in virtually any kind of space, and easily cast with either young artists or more experienced singers —and worlds apart from the drivel that passes for most musical outreach these days. It would be an excellent operatic introduction for adults as well as kids."
"Mr. Kennedy’s Horn Concerto is a major piece, and a splendid addition to the repertoire. I wish we could have heard it again."
"John Kennedy is a composer of rare talent. The premiere of his Storm and Stress brought the audience to its feet at its conclusion... an expressive work that should be heard again."
"Some might say the measure of great art is that it touches the heart, teaches a lesson and shifts one's perspective on life. I confess that at the world premiere of The Language of Birds, I laughed and cried, I learned that truth and kindness are more valuable than money, and I will never listen to bird song in the same way again.† After much hard work, a good dose of inspiration and months of collaboration with the singers of the Sarasota Opera, composer John Kennedy has created an opera of great note."
"One Body radiates the warmth and generosity of Kennedy’s musical mind."
"Pleasant and powerful, it made one want to move. A quick-moving but formal hieratic procession."
"It was impossible not to feel deeply moved by Kennedy’s spine-tingling score." "Sometimes in the course of human events, something so extraordinary happens that you want life to stop —just for an instant, while you savor the moment. At Spoleto’s Music in Time series Monday night, a Recital Hall full of people had to be reminded to continue breathing as John Kennedy premiered his One Body... Amidst all the sound and light and movement of Spoleto, this One Body is what I want to hold in my head and heart until next year. Or maybe the year after that. Kennedy has crafted a work of truth and beauty more lasting than even he knows."
"I had never heard a piece in which the textual manifesto so blurred into the sonic analogy, making the piece abstract, metaphoric, and self-referential all at once. And pretty, too."
"A quite beautiful setting, both graceful and intellectually astute... certainly the highlight of the concert."
"This music is meant for intense listening to its essence... there seemed to be an expansion of the space."
Reviews of Mr. Kennedy's Conducting:
"The orchestra offered clean, precise and soulful performances under the direction of John Kennedy."
"The orchestra is truly the star of this show, and happily, the young Spoleto Festival U.S.A. Orchestra, conducted by the festival’s contemporary-music guru, John Kennedy, was fully up to the task."
"Led by conductor John Kennedy, the orchestra and singers performed with commitment and fire."
"The orchestra was exactingly conducted by John Kennedy…the audience roared their approval." "Conductor John Kennedy has fully internalized the fearsomely difficult score. In addition to his complete mastery of the constantly shifting meters, it was clear from the way he cued the singers that he also has a genuine appreciation for the shapeliness and strange lyricism of Dusapin's vocal writing. The hardworking members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra played astonishingly well. Though Dusapin's “Faustus’ may not suit everyone's taste, this is groundbreaking contemporary music drama, and exactly what the Spoleto Festival should be offering us."
"Conductor John Kennedy's reading of the score was superbly dramatic."
"One of the most spontaneous performances imaginable...† Kennedy turned out a vibrant interpretation and his brilliantly alive Spoleto Festival Orchestra blazed with classic elegance. Kennedy is a Mozart conductor to the manor born."
"This is a highly-polished production. John Kennedy’s conducting was a unifying force."
"SFNM has become a vital component of our town’s unique cultural landscape."
"The indispensable Santa Fe New Music continues to present well-crafted, adventurous and innovative performances of 20th and 21st century music."
"Kennedy and musicians gave an energetic, delightfully assured reading... they fully deserved the riotous standing ovation from the capacity audience in Stieren Hall."
"Under Kennedy’s direction the music was given careful, loving treatment."
"Kennedy’s series has become one of the gems of the festival. Though audiences are sometimes scared by the prospect of modern music, Kennedy, who sounds like the Charles Wadsworth of contemporary music, makes the works accessible even for the skeptics."
"The spirited performance was led by John Kennedy’s sure direction."
"Composer-conductor John Kennedy threw down a musical gauntlet Friday evening at Theaterwork, and the mental clang could be heard far and wide. If the public takes up the challenge, New Mexico’s music scene is in for some interesting times... If this performance is even half an indication, Kennedy’s future efforts will be must-sees."
"Kennedy brought out the roughness of the score, its undercurrent of terror... the balance was admirable."
"An exquisite performance from the orchestra and conductor John Kennedy, in whose hands the thick textures shimmered and paused in crystalline gorgeousness."
"Demonstrated that an 'Experimental Tradition' exists, distinct and complex and by no means exhausted."
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