Nina Gamble Kennedy

By

Nina Gamble Kennedy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Nina Kennedy

Nina Gamble Kennedy (born 1960) is an American classical pianist, orchestral conductor, filmmaker, and writer. She is the daughter of Matthew Washington Kennedy, concert pianist and director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers from 1957 to 1986; and Anne Gamble Kennedy, also a concert pianist and piano accompanist for the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Both of her parents served as members of the piano faculty at Fisk University.

Early life

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Kennedy received her first musical instruction from her parents. She was enrolled in formal piano classes at the Blair Academy of Music in 1968, first with William Higgs, and later with Enid Katahn who would be her primary piano teacher until 1978. She was presented in her first complete piano recital at nine years old. In 1974 she was engaged by conductor Thor Johnson to appear as piano soloist with the Nashville Symphony in a performance of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue in Nashville’s Centennial Park. She received a standing ovation from an audience of over 4,000.[1][2] Kennedy graduated from McGavock High School in 1978. That year she was one of three piano students out of a field of 72 pianists who auditioned, accepted for study at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she studied with Eleanor Sokoloff. At the time, famed African-American pianist Natalie Hinderas was on the piano faculty at Temple University. Kennedy began to study with her in 1979, and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from Temple in 1982 cum laude. From 1979 to 1982, Kennedy served on the piano faculty at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia. She also taught several private piano students, and continued to teach privately after her arrival in New York. After her graduation from Temple, Kennedy was accepted for study in the Master’s Program at the Juilliard School in New York City, where she majored in piano performance and orchestral conducting. Her second year at Juilliard she was awarded the prestigious William Petschek Scholarship. While at Juilliard she studied with William Masselos and Herbert Stessin. Throughout her studies, Kennedy had performed and participated in master classes conducted by Andre Watts, Gaby Casadesus, Leon Fleisher, and Leonard Bernstein at Juilliard. She completed the coursework toward the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Constance Keene. In 1988 she was the winner of the National Endowment of the ArtsSolo Recitalist Fellowship.[3]

Nina Kennedy, conductor

Career

On April 5, 1987, the John Wesley Work III Memorial Foundation presented Kennedy in her New York debut recital in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, for which she received several standing ovations and was called back for encores. John Rockwell of The New York Times reviewed the concert.[4]
After Kennedy’s New York debut, she embarked on her second European tour which included concerts in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Brussels, and Amsterdam at the Concertgebouw, for which she received several standing ovations and was reviewed by famed music critic Jan van Voorthuysen for Het Vaderland. Kennedy’s television and radio broadcasts include a recital for the BBC in London, performances of the Beethoven Second Piano Concerto with the Jackson (Mississippi) Symphony for NET (1976), and the Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto with the Chautauqua Festival Orchestra recorded live for broadcast on National Public Radio (1981). During her first European tour, she was invited to appear in recital at the American Embassy in Paris.[5]She has appeared as guest soloist in the opening night concert for the Jeunesse Musicalisches Festival at Vienna’s Musikverein, and as piano soloist with the Chicago Sinfonietta under conductor Paul Freeman at the Konzerthaus in Vienna.[5]In Europe she performed and resided in Vienna (1997–2001), Cologne (2001–2003), and Paris (2003–2007). Kennedy served as conducting apprentice with the New York Philharmonic from 1992 to 1995, and L’Orchestre National de France from 2003 to 2007, under Maestro Kurt Masur.
Kennedy is the subject of a mini-documentary titled Portrait: An American Concert Pianist, produced for broadcast on PBS. In 2006, she directed and produced a feature-length documentary film about her father titled Matthew Kennedy: One Man’s Journey, which won the prize for Best Film by a Black Filmmaker at the 2007 Nashville Film Festival (NaFF).[6] Since 2016, Kennedy and her partner April Gibson have been hosting an Artists’ Salon in New York City. Their first public Salon, an INFEMNITY Production, was presented at Dixon Place in 2017, and was broadcast on Manhattan Neighborhood NetworkTelevision. She is the host of The Noshing with Nina Show produced by April Gibson, which is also broadcast on MNN, BRIC (Brooklyn Information and Culture Network), and Bronx Network.[7] The show has won the 2021 B Free Award in the B Entertaining category,[12] and the 2019 B Free Award in the 1st Amendment category.[13]

Her first book, Practicing for Love: A Memoir, is a 2021 Lambda Literary Award finalist.[14] Her second book of memoirs, Practice What You Preach, also published by RoseDog Books, was released in 2022.[15]

Critical reception

Writing in The New York Times, John Rockwell said of Kennedy's New York debut performance that, "Her playing was distinguished by its poetic thoughtfulness," and called her "a fine pianist."[4]

Recordings


Nina Kennedy, pianist

Writings

  • Practice What You Preach (2022), Dorrance Publishing Company: RoseDog Books. ISBN 978-1-63661-011-5
  • Practicing for Love: A Memoir (2019), RoseDog Books. ISBN 978-1645305057 [17]
  • “How Long? Not Long!” (2018), INFEMNITY Arts and Culture News[9]
  • “Keep Silent in the Church?” (2018), INFEMNTY Arts and Culture News[10]
  • “Tosca’s Revenge” (2018), INFEMNITY Arts and Culture News[11]
  • “How State and Local Governments Impoverish African American Neighborhoods” (2017), INFEMNITY Voices of Color[12]
  • “My Journey to the Podium” (2017), April and Nina’s Salon Newsletter[13]
  • “Jubilee Day” (2016), April and Nina’s Salon Newsletter[14]
  • Feels Like a Woman (1997), screenplay*
  • "Notes on the Program," Lincoln Center Stagebill, April 1987

Films

Matthew Kennedy: One Man’s Journey (2006), produced and directed by Nina Kennedy[15][16]

References

  1. Jump up^ "The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee on June 19, 1974 · Page 47".
  2. Jump up^ Company, Johnson Publishing (15 August 1974). "Jet". Johnson Publishing Company – via Google Books.
  3. Jump up^ By. "Pianist plays Kenosha".
  4. ^ Jump up to:a b Rockwell, John. "MUSIC: DEBUTS IN REVIEW; A VIOLINIST AND 2 PIANISTS IN RECITALS".
  5. ^ Jump up to:a b "noshwithninatv". noshwithninatv.
  6. Jump up^ "Fisk Music Group Was Moneymaking Powerhouse".
  7. Jump up^ "noshwithninatv". noshwithninatv.
  8. Jump up^ .americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-10-02.pdf
  9. Jump up^ "How Long? Not Long!". fem-culturenews.infemnity.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  10. Jump up^ "Keep Silent in the Church?". fem-culturenews.infemnity.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  11. Jump up^ "TOSCA'S REVENGE". fem-culturenews.infemnity.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  12. Jump up^ "How State and Local Governments Impoverish African-American Neighborhoods". fem-voicesofcolor.infemnity.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  13. Jump up^ "noshwithninatv". noshwithninatv. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  14. Jump up^ "noshwithninatv". noshwithninatv. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  15. Jump up^ "Matthew Kennedy: One Man's Journey". 27 April 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2018 – via www.imdb.com.
  16. Jump up^ "Matthew Kennedy: One Man's Journey". www.facebook.com.
  17. Jump up^ http://fem-entertainmentnews.infemnity.com/2020/05/practicing-for-love-memoir-by-nina-kennedy20.html
Nina Kennedy is a concert pianist, orchestral conductor, and award-winning filmmaker. She holds a master’s degree from the Juilliard School. Her memoir, "Practicing for Love," is a 2021 Lambda Literary Award Finalist.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Khatia Buniatishvili: Beyoncé of Piano?

By
Image
Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili April Gibson and Nina Kennedy both contributed to this article to share their respective insights and opinions. April grew up listening to Hip Hop, Pop,  R&B,  and Hair Bands. Nina, herself a classical pianist, grew up listening to jazz and R&B, as well as symphonies and opera. Nina: While living in Paris I got in the habit of watching the news channel “France24,” and was delighted to find that I continued having access to France24 here in Manhattan. Now that most American news channels have become The Trump Show, I became more dependent on France24 to be able to hear some authentic international news. One day this summer while going about my business with the TV on, I heard the news anchor announce a feature story on “The Beyonc é  of the Piano.” I stopped what I was doing to sit down and watch. The subject of this segment was world-renowned Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili, who has been referred to as "The B
Read more

Don Shirley, "Green Book," and Me

By
Image
I finally got the chance to sit down and watch the Oscar-winning film Green Book , on the life of African American concert pianist Don Shirley . As I had written in an earlier blog ( "Ebony and Ivory: A Dissonant Truth" ), I had visited with Dr. Shirley in his apartment above Carnegie Hall when my parents were in New York with the Fisk Jubilee Singers. The film gave a very accurate depiction of his home and the extravagant, ostentatious décor. The Real Don Shirley in his home Don Shirley was praised early in his life as a genius, a wunderkind whose forte was the traditional classical repertoire. Composer Igor Stravinsky said of him: "His virtuosity is worthy of Gods." But his record label forced him to play jazz, and sent him on tour with a jazz trio. In an interview, Shirley said that his record label wanted him to appear in overalls with a red bandana around his neck on the album cover. He refused. In my own book I have written about facing racism as an African Am
Read more

Where Was James Baldwin's Boyfriend?

By
Image
James Baldwin As we are nearing the end of Black History Month, I find myself reading and listening to the words of James Baldwin. He became one of the most articulate voices of the Civil Rights Movement, yet it is hard to find any description or discussion - in his own words - of his life as a gay man. One could guess that he describes some of his gay life in the novel Giovanni's Room , which can easily be dismissed as a work of fiction. We know that he met the man who became the love of his life, Lucien Happersberger, in Paris in 1949, when Lucien was 17 and James was 25. The fact that Lucien was white could have served as proof that, at least in Baldwin's mind, black men and white men could love each other. But unfortunately, Baldwin chose to remain in the closet, using references to "... my wife" and "... my woman, my children..." in his interviews. The truth is, the most significant woman in his life was his mother, and the children he referred to were
Read more

Anne Gamble Kennedy (Not to be found on Wikipedia!)

By
Image
Since Wikipedia refuses to publish this article because they claim, "The subject's references do not adequately show the subject's notability," I am publishing it myself. I'd like to see any of those editors try to survive as a Black female in the American South during the 1940s and 50s. Anne Gamble's accomplishments are notable as HELL! Anne Gamble Kennedy From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Anne Gamble Kennedy  (25 September 1920 – 11 June 2001) was an American classical  pianist , piano professor, and accompanist for the  Fisk Jubilee Singers  of  Nashville, Tennessee . Anne Gamble Kennedy Contents      1 Early life 2 Career 3 Selected discography 4 Notes Early life Anne Lucille Gamble was born in  Charleston, West Virginia  to Dr.  Henry Floyd Gamble  and the former Nina Hortense Clinton of Zanesville, Ohio. She was the younger of two children born to that union. She also had two older step-siblings, Katherine Lee
Read more

Juilliard Covers Its Ass

By
Image
On April 23rd, I received an email from the Juilliard Alumni Association director. In it was an email from the president of the school addressing an issue concerning a workshop conducted by the Drama Division. Evidently, the Drama Division invited a guest lecturer who conducted a workshop on the African American experience during slavery. In the words of President Woetzel to students, faculty, and staff:       "I write to you to address a September 2020 Drama Division workshop that has impacted our school community. While I am s haring a message below that was sent to the drama community by Evan Yionoulis, dean and director of the Drama Division, I believe it is important for our school community to hear directly from me.      To live our values requires an acknowledgment of mistakes we have made. To that end, I want to state unequivocally that this workshop was ill-conceived and should not have occurred in the manner that it did. I extend a heartfelt apology to the individuals wh
Read more

Bradley Cooper's "Maestro": Ho-Hum! Another Movie About White People

By
Image
  Granted, most Hollywood films about American celebrities of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s are going to be about white people. But in a film about Leonard Bernstein, there were several opportunities to tell the story about Lenny marching with Martin Luther King in Selma, Alabama, or Lenny introducing young André  Watts to the world concert stage, or even Lenny conducting Marian Anderson with the Israel Philharmonic. But no. The producers of Maestro chose to ignore the existence of African Americans, except when Bernstein's wife, Felicia (portrayed by Carey Mulligan), needed a nurse more than an hour and forty-five minutes into the film. At the very end, Bernstein directs his drunken, romantic attention toward a young black male conducting student, whom he had just instructed in a conducting master class. I suppose this young conducting student represented the future of classical music. But for a people who had been so discriminated against after the Second World War that young Bernstei
Read more

Love, Like Music: A Review of Nina Kennedy's "Practicing for Love: A Memoir" by Dean and Petra Aldrich

By
Image
Love, Like Music A joint review by Dean and Petra Aldrich of Practicing for Love , Nina Kennedy’s richly detailed and frank memoir. “For those in the world of classical music, Kennedy’s book is a winner. Her musical talent and technical achievements are obvious to anyone familiar with the works in her repertoire. Moreover, her descriptions of the challenges she faced as a Black woman in classical music provide essential, timely, and pointed critiques of the field. Musicians, composers, conductors – take note!” - Dean Aldrich, father, trained concert pianist, teacher of music and history, and graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in piano performance and music education (Bachelor and Master degrees). “Kennedy’s memoir provides fascinating and essential insights into lesbian history and the experiences of lesbians in New York City in the 1980s and 1990s. Truly, the value of this opportunity to see such a pivotal period in LGBTQ+ history through Black and lesbian
Read more

The Fisk Jubilee Singers at the Kennedy Center

By
Image
Matthew Kennedy directing the Fisk Jubilee Singers of 1971-72 Again for posterity (since all of the articles appearing in this blog can be found online in perpetuity), here is the review of the Fisk Jubilee Singers' concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. as it appeared in Down Beat Magazine in 1972. It is listed in the Down Beat magazine archives . 
Read more