SPRING 2017 THE TROMBONIST
JOHN KENNY BY JANE SALMON
– ITA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD The extraordinary John Kenny has just become the second British trombone player to be awarded the International Trombone Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award – an award reserved for those who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to the trombone profession over a long career.
So far, John has enjoyed a life that encompasses almost every corner of the arts imaginable. He is celebrated worldwide for his inspirational work as a soloist, chamber artist, composer, researcher and teacher. John: “The trombone has been the most wonderful springboard into every area that I have worked in. When I was studying as a trombone player, I was studying to be a trombone player. I discovered that the artistic opportunities on offer were just not exciting enough for me. I always felt that I needed to do other things, but in actual fact, finding my frustrations with the trombone was the best thing that could have happened to me.” John has a long relationship with the discovery and research of ancient instruments and his exploration of the trombone family reaches back as far as anyone can imagine. In 1993 John became the first person for 2000 years to sound a Carnyx – the great war horn. This was a reconstruction that ended up the flagship project for the new discipline of Music Archeology and has since led to the discovery and replication of ancient instruments from various sites across Europe. Inspired by this work, John went on to found Carynx and Co. who exists to combine music archaeology and the world of contemporary music. The same company now acts as a parent organization to ensembles including the trombone trio Pandora’s Box, which features Emily White, Miguel Tantos and John Kenny. The trio are frequently joined by Swedish trumpet player and composer, Törbjorn Hultmark on soprano trombone. HeadSpace Ensemble are supported too. This very special quartet brings John and Törbjorn’s conventional brass playing together with two extraordinary electronic instruments; the Head=Space and HiNote. This pair of instruments was designed for Clarence Adoo MBE; a former trumpeter who was involved in a devastating road accident that left The great drive and creativity behind this collection of ensembles are reflective of John’s passion to pursue his own ideas. “I always wanted to somehow make things happen, it’s always very much been part of my mentality. By the time I left the Royal Academy of Music, I already knew that I really needed and wanted to travel. I wanted to meet and respond to people who had exciting things to say. I suppose I set about trying to finding those people and finding out whether I could be a part of what they were doing. A lot of that actually meant hitchhiking into Europe; just going to see people. Listening. Watching, experiencing. That’s carried on; if you don’t search, you don’t discover.”
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