East Surrey Choral Society

IAN KENNEDY, GGSM

Ian Kennedy was appointed musical director of East Surrey Choral Society in 1995 and under his enthusiastic direction the choir has developed and grown considerably. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, winning many awards, including the Dove Memorial Prize (awarded to the outstanding graduate student) and the coveted Gold Medal for Singers. In 1977 he joined this country's only full-time professional chamber choir, the BBC Singers, on a short-term contract..and he remained with the group for almost thirty years! In the meantime, however, he has also enjoyed a highly varied freelance career that has taken him all over the world as singer, conductor and accompanist. He has appeared on many occasions at the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, notably as a tenor soloist in the 50th anniversary performance of Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music and has sung in most of this country's leading concert halls. He has broadcast regularly for the BBC and has performed and recorded with many of the worlds leading conductors. He was for many years a frequent and popular guest artist aboard P&O and Cunard cruise liners and also a great favourite with audiences at Max Jaffa's summer serenade concerts on the Yorkshire coast.

Ian was for eight years musical director of "Gilbert and Sullivan for All", with whom he appeared in productions and concerts throughout the British Isles as well as tours of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and USA. Highlights included performances at the Sydney Opera House and conducting the Houston Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras - the latter in the famous Hollywood Bowl. He is associate conductor of the National Concert Orchestra, with whom he has presented a number of strongly contrasted programmes, ranging from classical, through Viennese and "Last Night of the Proms", to Broadway musicals. In November 2001 he conducted "Friday Night at the Fairfield" (Croydon) with East Surrey Choral Society and the Guildhall Sinfonia, with which orchestra he also appeared at the Barbican in November 2000 in a concert celebrating the centenary of the death of Sir Arthur Sullivan.

Since 1986, when Ian was appointed Professor of Singing at the Guildhall, he has taught many individual students and now also runs classes in Oratorio and Light Music. Apart from his busy teaching commitments, he is greatly in demand as a festival adjudicator and tutor at summer schools.

Away from work, he is an avid collector of CDs, a sports enthusiast and crossword fanatic. His passion for music is almost matched by his passion for golf, though he himself admits that he is nowhere near as good a golfer as he might be - if he had more time to practice!