Kendall Kennison, Composer
Composer Kendall Kennison will perform and discuss his recent piano music and the influence of his mentors. This program, which he is preparing for the Volvo Offroadfest Zagreb 2014 in Croatia, will include the premieres of Meditation (2011/13) and Izlet (2013-14) as well as performances of Rhapsody and Real Estate Rag from 2006.
Kendall Kennison teaches music theory and composition at Goucher College, where he is Associate Professor. The composer of dozens of pieces in genres, including chamber, solo, orchestral, choral, and opera, his music has been performed throughout the Northeast and Midwestern United States, as well as in Italy, Croatia, and Russia. He has written music at the request of performers and ensembles including Scottish Voices, pianist Lisa Weiss, guitarist Stanley Alexandrowicz, The New Horizons Chamber Ensemble, Duo Viardot, the Goucher Chamber Symphony, and the Goucher Opera Workshop. One of his interests is writing music inspired by visual art or literature, and this has led to collaborations with artists Allyn Massey and Bernhard Hildebrandt, as well as music inspired by painters Robert Motherwell and Richard Diebenkorn, and novelist C.P. Snow. His composition teachers include Robert Hall Lewis, Robert Moevs, Richard Wilson, and Annea Lockwood, and he is grateful to his first piano teacher, Alan D. Wingard, for introducing him to contemporary music in elementary school. In addition to his teaching duties at Goucher, he also coordinates the Ars Viva concert series, which has brought guest artists to Goucher from Russia, Italy, Germany, Austria, India, and all around the United States. He lives in Baltimore with his wife and three children.
Admission is free.