INFEMNITY™ Arts and Culture News

  Yesterday I treated myself to a screening of the Oscar-nominated film The Only Girl in the Orchestra , on the life of double bassist Orin O'Brien. Orin's niece, Molly O'Brien, produced and directed the film. At 30 years old, Orin auditioned for Leonard Bernstein to join the New York Philharmonic in 1966, thus becoming the first woman to perform with the ensemble. In the film we saw several newspaper articles on her appointment. Zubin Mehta was even quoted as saying that women should not be in the orchestra. André Watts Again we have Leonard Bernstein to thank for appointing the first woman instrumentalist to a post in the New York Philharmonic. He also appointed the first African-American player, Jerome Ashby, in 1979. And of course we all know about what Bernstein did to launch the career of pianist André Watts in 1963. My question is: Where are the films that document the progress of African Americans in classical music? I produced the documentary on my father's lif...

  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 ...

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 ...

Join us as we pay homage to  American classical pianist, professor, choral director, composer, and arranger of Negro Spirituals Matthew Kennedy , who was born March 10, 1921 in Americus, Georgia. We will be posting links to his recordings, articles, and film clips as part of his 100th birthday celebration. As a young boy, Matthew Kennedy sat in the segregated audience for a live concert given by famed Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. He decided to become a pianist himself after that concert. Soon afterwards, he and his mother traveled to New York City at apply for study at the Juilliard School, for which he won a scholarship as a result of imitating Rachmaninoff's playing style. After graduating from the Juilliard Preparatory Division, he entered Fisk University as a freshman and served as piano accompanist for the Fisk Jubilee Singers under then-director Mrs. James A. Myers. He traveled the world with the group performing several solo pieces on their programs, thu...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: info@infemnity.com In anticipation of Matthew Kennedy's 100th birthday celebration, INFEMNITY Productions is happy to promote the popular CD which he titled Familiar Favorites . The world will be celebrating the 250th birthday of Ludwig von Beethoven on December 17th, and Matthew Kennedy's performance of the second movement (Adagio cantabile) of Beethoven's "Pathétique" Sonata is one of the selections on the CD. Enjoy this opening clip of the documentary film Matthew Kennedy: One Man's Journey , in which he performs the Beethoven, among other numbers on the CD. Matthew Kennedy was born on March 10, 1921.  The star of his own radio show at age eleven, Matthew played the organ to accompany silent films at the segregated cinema in his home town Americus, Georgia, where he was given the stage name “Sunshine,” and was dressed in a bellhop uniform. After graduating from Fisk University and Juilliard, he was the director of the world-re...

Matthew Kennedy: One Man's Journey From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Matthew Kennedy: One Man's Journey  is an American  documentary film  directed and written by  Nina Kennedy . The film chronicles the life of concert pianist, professor, and choral director  Matthew Kennedy . [1] [2] [3] [4] Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Production 3 Awards 4 Critical reception 5 Soundtrack 6 References 7 External links Synopsis                                                  Born in the segregated South in 1921, Matthew Kennedy was known throughout his home state of Georgia as a child-prodigy. At age 12, he attended a concert given by the famous Russian pianist  Sergei Rachmaninoff  in Macon, Georgia in 1932. When this film was produced, he was one of few surviving witnesses of Rachmaninoff's live performance. In his f...