INFEMNITY™ Arts and Culture News

On November 21st, Nina Kennedy  was presented with a 2024 Gay City News Impact Award for her contributions to the arts in her role as Creative Director of INFEMNITY Productions . Here are more photos from the celebration held in the ballroom of Terrace on the Park in Queens, New York, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union and Schneps Media. Already posting to social media Addressing the crowd during the VIP Power Hour Walking the Red Carpet when her name was called Notice Nina's pic on the screen! Nina is seated on the front row, 3rd from right Read the description of the event  here . A wonderful time was had by all! Photos by Ralph DePas and Ramy Mahmoud

  Nina Kennedy (photo: Arian Clay-Sirop) New York City -- Several LGBTQ leaders and allies were honored on November 21st for their outstanding achievements and dedication to the community at the ninth annual Gay City News Impact Awards, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union. The Impact Awards... "Honors individuals who make a difference to leave people better than they found them." There were honorees from various backgrounds, including activism, the arts, filmmaking, law, education, non-profit, government, and medicine. A VIP Power Hour was held before the actual awards ceremony, where honorees addressed the room from the stage to introduce themselves and their organizations. "It was a very delightful, inspiring evening," said Nina Kennedy. "As the owner of a production company, I've been very concerned about the huge discrepancy between men and women when it comes to film financing. Women are not producing enough feature-length films, as compared to ...

  While sitting in the audience for a screening of the documentary on James Baldwin titled The Price of a Ticket during the James Baldwin Centennial Convening  at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, I was forced to make a connection between Baldwin's words and a review of my recent concert in Mexico City. In the film, Baldwin says at a poignant moment: "It is not a romantic matter. It is the unalterable truth. All men are brothers. That's the bottom line." For a man who had been on the receiving end of such hatred, such discrimination and prejudice, that is quite a courageous statement to make. A few months ago I was invited to give a concert as part of the  27th Festival Internacional de Piano en Blanco y Negro . This was my first big concert since COVID, so I had quite some anxiety over whether or not I'd be able to pull it off. Fortunately it went very well; I received a standing ovation and was called back for an encore. The next day...

  by Pedro Antonio Muñoz Helguera September 15, 2024 | Mexico City [Translated from Spanish] Today we are going to talk of the incredible concert that the American pianist Nina Kennedy gave in the Blas Galindo Auditorium at the National Center for the Arts here in Mexico City just yesterday, September 14. Her presentation was truly emotional, impeccable technique, and a selection of pieces that ranged from European Romanticism to American and Latin folklore. The recital was solo piano, which gave it an extremely intimate touch and allowed the audience to connect to the compositions. Kennedy played it all: there were pieces by Chopin, also Liszt, there was music from America as in John W. Work and R. Nathaniel Dett. There were also Latino composers such as Manuel de Falla and Ernesto Lecuona. To begin the concert with Ravel's  Valses Nobles et Sentimentales , she transported us to a world full of delicacy, the complexity of the waltzes under the hands of Kennedy who showed perf...

  After a five-year pause due to the COVID pandemic, Nina Kennedy will be presenting concerts at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and in Mexico City at the National Arts Center next month. In Mexico City she will be appearing as part of the  27th Festival Internacional de Piano En Blanco y Negro  on Saturday, September 14th at 7:00 pm., presenting a recital of works by Ravel, Chopin, Schumann, de Falla, Lecuona, and African-American composers John W. Work III and R. Nathaniel Dett. At Vanderbilt she will present the same program at the Blair School of Music  in Turner Recital Hall on Thursday September 5th. She will also appear Sunday, September 8th at the First Baptist Church Capitol Hill as part of the Grandparents' Day celebration. She will also conduct a master class at Fisk University. Praised by the New York Times as one of the great pianists of her generation, Nina   Kennedy is a world-renowned concert pianist, orchestral conductor, award- winning fil...

  As we celebrate one hundred years of the Rhapsody in Blue , I am inspired to reflect on the impact of George Gershwin's composition on my life. I first discovered the Rhapsody in Blue when my father had assigned the piece to one of his graduate students at Fisk University. Carol Elligan was a former Fisk Jubilee Singer and Piano Pedagogy major. I already considered her to be my best friend (even though I was eleven years old at the time, and Carol was in her early twenties). Before she started working on the Rhapsody in Blue , I was struggling with my piano studies, and had even reached the point where I was ready to quit piano. My parents went on about how expensive my piano lessons were, so I figured they'd be pleased with saving that little bit of money. But my quitting was not an option. They insisted that I continue with the lessons, whether I liked it or not. Enid Katahn, my piano teacher at the Blair School of Music in Nashville was struggling to assign repertoire tha...

The provocative title of my last blog ( Bradley Cooper's " Maestro" : Ho-Hum! Another Movie About White People )   brought lots of comments, re-posts, and controversy. Interestingly, all positive comments came from black people (American and otherwise), and several whites as well. All negative comments came from whites. It was shocking to me how blissfully unaware some of the non-melanated people are when it comes to the history of racism in Hollywood. They have no idea of the degree to which African Americans have been discriminated against, excluded, relegated to servant status, or portrayed as criminals. When a film about Leonard Bernstein completely ignored his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement, I could not keep silent. Here are some of the comments: Mark Bailey: "Brilliant review -- I agree with every word. Thanks for posting it. I was deeply bothered by the homophobia and gay-shaming in the film, especially by Felicia. The lack of inclusivity is yet an...