Andrew Kennedy (born 26 May 1977) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

. He was born in

Ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, England, was a chorister at

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

, attended

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson (rector), Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oa ...

, and then was a choral scholar at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

. Further study at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

was followed by a place on the Vilar Young Artists programme at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

where he performed many solo principal roles. He won 1st prize at the Jackdaws Vocal Award in 1999 (now called the Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards). He sang for

Bampton Classical Opera Bampton Classical Opera is an opera company based in Bampton, Oxfordshire and founded in 1993. It specialises in the production of lesser known opera from the Classical period. Performances are always sung in English. ''Opera today'' called the c ...

in 2002. From 2005–2007 he was a member of the

BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme (also known as the NGA scheme) was launched in 1999 by Adam Gatehouse as part of the BBC's commitment to young musical talent. Each autumn six or seven young artists at the beginning of careers on the n ...

. In 2005, he won the Rosenblatt Recital Prize at the

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition (known as Cardiff Singer of the World from 1983–2001 and BBC Singer of the World in Cardiff in 2003) is a competition for classical singers held every two years. The competition was started by BBC ...

. He is a

Borletti-Buitoni Trust The Borletti-Buitoni Trust () (BBT) was established as a charitable trust in 2002 to help young musicians throughout the world. The Trust assists classical instrumentalists, ensembles and singers in their early 20s and 30s to further develop their ...

Award winner and won the prestigious

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

Young Artists’ Award in 2006. Kennedy has sung principal roles in major opera houses of the world including La Scala, Milan, Royal Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Houston Grand Opera, Oper Frankfurt, L'Opéra Comique in Paris, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera and Opera de Lyon. He had an international concert career and worked with some of the world's principal orchestras with conductors such as

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Gard ...

Kazushi Ono Kazushi (written: 和志, 和司, 和士, 和史, 一志 or 一至) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese rugby sevens player *, Japanese writer *, Japanese footballer *, Jap ...

, Sir Colin Davis,

Gianandrea Noseda Gianandrea Noseda (born 23 April 1964, Sesto San Giovanni, Italy) is an Italian conductor. Biography Noseda studied piano and composition in Milan. He began conducting studies at age 27. He furthered his conducting studies with Donato Renzet ...

, Esa Pekka Salonen,

Sir Mark Elder Sir Mark Philip Elder (born 2 June 1947) is a British conductor. He is currently music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England. Life and career Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, the son of a dentist. He played the ...

Sir Roger Norrington Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington (born 16 March 1934) is an English conductor. He is known for historically informed performances of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music. In November 2021 Norrington announced his retirement. Life No ...

Andris Nelsons Andris Nelsons (born 18 November 1978) is a Latvian conductor who is currently the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the ''Gewandhauskapellmeister'' of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He has previously served as music dire ...

and

Daniele Gatti Daniele Gatti (born 6 November 1961) is an Italian conductor. He is currently chief conductor of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, artistic advisor of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and music director of the Orchestra Mozart. Biography Gatti was born i ...

. Appearances at the BBC Proms include Finzi '' Intimations of Immortality'' (BBCSO/Daniel); Howells ''

Hymnus Paradisi ''Hymnus Paradisi'' is a choral work by Herbert Howells for soprano and tenor soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra. The work was inspired in part by the death from polio of his son Michael in 1935. Howells wrote the work from 1936 to 1938, dra ...

'' (BBCSO/ Brabbins); a live televised performance of Sullivan ''

The Yeomen of the Guard ''The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid'', is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh ...

'' (BBC Concert Orchestra/

Jane Glover Dame Jane Alison Glover (born 13 May 1949) is a British-born conductor and musicologist. Early life Born at Helmsley, Glover attended Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls. Her father, Robert Finlay Glover, MA ( TCD), was headmaster of M ...

) and Elgar '' The Spirit of England'' at the 2007 Last Night of the BBC Proms with

Jiří Bělohlávek Jiří Bělohlávek, (; 24 February 1946 – 31 May 2017) was a Czech conductor. He was a leading interpreter of Czech classical music, and became chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1990, a role he would serve on two occasio ...

. In September 2019 he became Director of Music at

. According to his website, he is still available for short-term concert work. He is married to Anna Kennedy, a psychotherapist specialising in counselling children and adolescents based in

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

Discography

CDs

*''Britten - Saint Nicholas'' (2013) with Stephen Cleobury, The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, and Britten Sinfonia *''Warlock - The Curlew & songs by Peter Warlock'' (2006) with

Simon Lepper Simon Lepper is a British pianist specialising in song accompaniment and chamber music Biography Born in Canterbury, Lepper read music at King's College, Cambridge, and studied piano accompaniment with Michael Dussek at the Royal Academy of ...

and Pavao Quartet *''Vaughan Williams - On Wenlock Edge'' (2008) with the Dante Quartet

References

English operatic tenors Living people People from Ashington 1977 births BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists 21st-century English singers 21st-century British male singers People educated at Uppingham School Choral Scholars of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge {{UK-opera-singer-stub