Kevin Kenner
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Kevin Kenner (born May 19, 1963 in Coronado, California) is an American concert pianist who has performed all over the world, both as a soloist and with well known orchestras.
[edit] Biography
Kenner was raised a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He had played piano pieces during Sacrament Meeting by age seven. In about 1977 he accompanied Hartman Rector on a tour of the San Diego Mission in which he performed for many audiences.[1]
In 1990 he won a bronze medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. Later that year he won the top prize in getting second place in the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition; there was no first place winner. Kevin also won the Polonaise Prize for his performance of the Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise. Kevin Kenner is the only American ever to win medals at both competitions.
Kevin attended the Peabody Conservatory, where he studied with American pianist Leon Fleisher. In 1994-1995 he studied for a semester at Brigham Young University. Among his teachers there was Reid Nibley. He then served for two years as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Vienna Austria Mission. His mission president was Spencer J. Condie.[2]
Kevin Kenner now lives in London with his wife, Sonia Dembinska, and his three daughters Antonia, Isabella, and Celina. He is currently a piano professor at the Royal College of Music, London, and also gives masterclasses during the summer at the Academy of Music in Kraków in Poland.
He frequently tours with the Piazzoforte String Quintet, which is comprised of the following musicians: Pawel Wajrak - Violin, Maciej Lulek - Violin, Ryszard Sneka - Viola, Konrad Gorka - Cello, and Grzegorz Frankowski - Double Bass. In 2006, Kevin and the Piazzoforte String Quintet jointly released a recording of Concert Tangos by Argentinian tango composer Ástor Piazzolla.
[edit] Recordings
Kevin has made numerous recordings, including those of Chopin's Ballades, Preludes, and both Piano Concertos with conductor Antoni Wit and the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Poland. In 2007, he also released a recording of various works by French composer Maurice Ravel.
[edit] External links
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