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.
– The New York Times, 2007
Led by conductor John Kennedy, the orchestra and singers performed with commitment and fire.
– Charlotte Observer, 2007
The orchestra was exactingly conducted by John Kennedy…the audience roared their approval.
– Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2007
Conductor and Artistic Director
As Artistic Associate at the Spoleto Festival, Kennedy conducts the acclaimed Spoleto Festival Orchestra (which he annually selects through nationwide auditions) in a variety of repertoire, and serves as Director of the Music in Time series. His Spoleto programs have built a diverse and loyal audience for new music and have included numerous American premieres of international work. His orchestra programs on the Intermezzi series have been noted for their imaginative programming of music from across eras. A DVD recording of Mr. Kennedy leading the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in the American Premiere of John Cage's One11 and 103 on Mode Records was named Gramophone Magazine’s DVD of the Month for April, 2007. In 2007, he conducted the acclaimed American premiere production of Pascal Dusapin’s opera Faustus, the Last Night, as well as the Barber Adagio for a memorial concert for Gian Carlo Menotti.
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.
– Charleston Post and Courier, 2007
John Kennedy was the adept conductor of the haunting and engaging score.
– Wall Street Journal, 2007
This is a highly-polished production. John Kennedy’s conducting was a unifying force.
– The City Paper, 2007
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 Columbia State, 2001
Kennedy is the Artistic Director of SFNM (Santa Fe New Music) which provides deep community immersion of new music through concerts and educational activities. It maintains a concert series of international distinction, with notable programs which have included a Music and Water Festival, a Samuel Beckett and Music Centenary program, and programs devoted to composers Thomas Adès, Tan Dun, Pascal Dusapin, Osvaldo Golijov, Giya Kancheli, and others. SFNM maintains active collaborative programming initiatives with organizations including the Santa Fe Opera, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, SITE Sante Fe, and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. In 2003, SFNM launched the nation's first New Music Youth Ensemble, which has commissioned new works for youth from composers of distinction. SFNM also leads an annual New Mexico Young Composers' Project with awards for children 11-18.
SFNM has become a vital component of our town’s unique cultural landscape.
– Santa Fean Magazine, 2007
The indispensable Santa Fe New Music continues to present well-crafted, adventurous and innovative performances of 20th and 21st century music.
– Santa Fe Reporter, 2007
Kennedy and musicians gave an energetic, delightfully assured reading…they fully deserved the riotous standing ovation from the capacity audience in Stieren Hall.
– Santa Fe New Mexican, 2007
Under Kennedy’s direction the music was given careful, loving treatment.
– Albuquerque Journal, 2003
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.
– Santa Fe New Mexican, on SFNM debut program, 2000
Kennedy has guest conducted for many distinctive musical events, and been sought for repertoire from Mozart to Stravinsky and the present.Though regarded as a leading conductor of contemporary music, Kennedy has conducted many works from the standard orchestral and operatic repertoire, with special attention to Mozart, Beethoven, Sibelius, Stravinsky, Ginastera, and Messiaen. In 1996, he was the conductor for the inaugural Lincoln Center Festival’s Morton Feldman Retrospective. In dance, he has guest conducted with New York City Ballet, and been Music Director for productions of Ocean (for large orchestra of 112) and Biped with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Kennedy lived in New York for 15 years, where in 1987 he founded the ensemble Essential Music, which performed at almost every major venue in New York, and which presented over 100 premieres of new work. He has an extensive discography of performances on First Edition, Koch, Mode, Monroe Street, and other labels. A member of the Board of the American Music Center, he was its Chairman from 2002-2005.
Kennedy brought out the roughness of the score, its undercurrent of terror…the balance was admirable.
– The New York Times, 1996
An exquisite performance from the orchestra and conductor John Kennedy, in whose hands the thick textures shimmered and paused in crystalline gorgeousness.
– The Village Voice, 1996
Demonstrated that an “Experimental Tradition” exists, distinct and complex and by no means exhausted.
– The New York Times, 1995
The spirited performance was led by John Kennedy’s sure direction.
– The Washington Post, 2001