John Kenny

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For the Irish comedian, see Jon Kenny.

John Kenny posing with a trombone.

John Kenny (1957-) is a British trombonist, actor, composer and multi-faceted performer of contemporary solo repertoire, modern jazz and early music. As a composer, he has received commissions from the London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and in 1989 was Strathclyde Composer in Residence to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

After studying with Harold Nash at the Royal Academy of Music, John Kenny worked as an actor/musician with the Bubble Theatre in London in 1981. He made his debut as a soloist in the Purcell Room in 1982. In 1983 he was a prize winner at the Gaudeamus Foundation's International Competition in Holland, and has since given recitals and broadcasts worldwide, both as a soloist and with ensembles, including Ensemble Modern of Frankfurt and Ensemble Alternance of Paris.

John with the Carnyx, an Iron Age Scottish horn

He was a founder member of the TNT music theatre in 1984, collaborating with playwright Paul Stebbings to produce shows which have toured over a hundred venues in the UK, Scandinavia, Germany, Russia and Japan.

In 1993 he became the first person in modern times to play the Carnyx, Scotland's 2,000 year old Celtic Boar-headed horn. He now performs and lectures regularly with the instrument. In the same year he was elected as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

He is a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and a lecturer at Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart and lives in Edinburgh with his wife and two children.

John Kenny performs exclusively on C.G. Conn trombones.