Composer Jay Kennedy
On April 14, 2024, Catapult, Jay Kennedy’s exuberant theme and variations in reverse based on Haydn’s St. Anthony Chorale, kicks off our spring concert Making Waves. This will be the Northshore Concert Band’s first performance of this work.
Mr. Kennedy describes this work:
Catapult was commissioned by the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble and its conductor, Dr. Mallory Thompson. Dr. Thompson asked for an energetic, forward-driving, and flashy opener-type that would celebrate the return of large ensembles after the COVID-19 interruption. The title, Catapult, signals the energy in the piece, as well as hinting at the nickname for Northwestern University, which is Wildcats.
Being a graduate of Northwestern sparked the idea to use its alma mater as the impetus for the piece. Northwestern’s alma mater is based on the St. Anthony Chorale, a piece historically attributed to Joseph Haydn and popularized in Variations on a Theme by Haydn by Johannes Brahms. In the Brahms opus, and typical of the theme and variations form, the theme is stated at the beginning and followed by variations. The structure for Catapult is the opposite — variations of alma mater phrases are presented first using an array of melodic approaches, including being compressed, expanded, truncated, and inverted. The alma mater is not clearly evident and heard in its full form until near the end.
Catapult propels forward from its opening fanfare that uses compressed snippets of the alma mater phrases. It settles into a lower intensity transition that sets up the primary theme. That theme takes precedence in the first portion of the piece, as the alma mater appears in a supportive role with hints of its motives acting as responses to the primary theme. It progresses through a series of variations, one of which is driven by the snare drum quoting Northwestern’s marching band field entry cadence. Weaving through a series of variations, the direction in the score is to “Push On.” Catapult’s primary theme gradually gives way and the complete NU alma mater is presented in its entirety as the piece flourishes its way to the finish.
Composer Jay Kennedy’s career encompasses varied and successful experiences as a composer, arranger, producer, educator, entrepreneur, and administrative leader. Before retiring in 2022, he was the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Vice Provost at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Kennedy’s music has been heard in countless television and radio commercials, episodic television, and feature films.
We contacted Jay Kennedy and asked him to share his journey in music, inspiration, and advice for young musicians with us.
Please tell us about your journey in music and life.
I have been incredibly fortunate to have a career that has followed a unique trajectory encompassing varied and successful experiences as a composer, arranger, producer, and entrepreneur, as well as an educator and administrative leader and marching arts adjudicator.
My father played the drums and I picked that up at age four or five. I started taking piano lessons when I was eight from a wonderful woman who also taught me on a Hammond organ. I grew up in Franklin, Pennsylvania, a small town of about 10,000 people and when I was 15 years old, my father’s company got bought by another company and we moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin. Moving to Kenosha and experiencing the incredible music programs there became the prime catalyst for my deciding to pursue music as a career. I started taking drum lessons and studying vibraphone voicings and improvisation with a local teacher. In my high school senior year, I started taking lessons from Terry Applebaum at Northwestern University, who I considered a mentor.
I started learning about arranging in high school by transcribing passages of Buddy Rich big band arrangements, as well as a lot of other things. I would study the scores of various concert band, orchestra, and jazz ensemble pieces — looking at how the composers orchestrated and voiced passages. In my senior year at Tremper High School, I was the featured soloist on xylophone with the symphonic band playing Flight of the Bumblebee for which I wrote the arrangement. I really enjoyed the writing process, especially the theory and analysis parts, most of which I picked up through arranging and studying the pieces I had transcribed.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in music education at Northwestern, but about halfway through that program realized that I wanted to focus on writing, so took many music writing courses. I had great exposure to music in the Northwestern bands and loved my time with John Paynter — another mentor. I stayed at NU for my master’s degree in percussion performance and studied conducting with him.
After graduation, I landed a job at a jingle house called Com/Track in Chicago writing jingles, which I did for about three years. Jingles were a great learning ground for how to write fast and blend styles, since production schedules were invariably short and the agency producers and writers often would ask for a musical style blend, such as of flamenco and Van Halen rock (actual request!)
I was interested in writing music for movies, which of course at that time meant going to Los Angeles, which I did. I ended up providing music for several television shows, as well as a few movies, including Wayne’s World, Electric Horsemen, and Lethal Weapon 2. Television credits included writing for episodic series, such as Judging Amy, One Tree Hill, Felicity, and All My Children.
However, writing music for commercials ended up being the prime pursuit. I started a jingle company in LA with three others, which became very successful in the 1980s and early 90s. The LA company, LA/NY Music, received numerous awards, including five Clio Awards and 38 Clio Finalists. LA/NY Music’s work was voted in the Top 10 Jingles of the 1980s by advertising agencies for Pontiac — Get on Your Pontiac and Ride and McDonald’s — Mac Tonight (moon head playing piano) and in the Top 10 Jingles of 1992 for a series of Levi’s Buttonfly 501 Jeans, Levi’s Loose Fit Jeans – A Loose Interpretation of the Original, and Levi’s 501 Jeans — “Got to be Real.” Other national and regional campaigns I co-produced in LA and Chicago included Coca-Cola, Friskies (What’s Got into that Cat?), Seagram’s Golden Wine Cooler (with Bruce Willis), Kentucky Fried Chicken, Lubriderm, Nike Barcelona Olympics Dream Team, Kellogg’s Raisin Squares, Taco Bell (Make a Run for the Border), Cool Mint Listerine (Tarzan), former Western Airlines (w/Fred Astaire & Gene Kelly), Peter Pan Peanut Butter, and many others.
In 1994, a surprising, yet likely inevitable change in career direction occurred as I moved to Boston to work at Berklee College of Music. Over my 28 years at Berklee, I held several administrative positions, including department chair, dean, and vice president. During my 15-year tenure as Vice President for Academic Affairs/Vice Provost, I oversaw virtually every area of academic affairs (though not all at the same time). I was able to capitalize on my entrepreneurial experience starting a company and recording experience in Chicago and LA recording studios by working on many high-profile initiatives at Berklee, including the space design, financial planning, and curriculum and policy development for the launch of Berklee’s campus in Valencia, Spain in 2012, and managing space planning and design for fifteen new recording and technology facilities in Boston.
While at Berklee, I pursued and received the Ph.D. in higher education administration from Boston College. I retired from Berklee College of Music at the end of 2022 and returned to Chicago to get married.
Throughout my career, I have been an active composer and arranger of works for concert band, marching band, jazz ensemble, percussion ensemble, and symphony orchestra, some of which can be found on my website: jaykennedymusic.com. I was a Grammy Award finalist in 2002 for arrangements on the recording Virtuosi, by Gary Burton and Makoto Ozone.
Marching arts activities have always been a passion for me. I have been an active adjudicator for marching band, drum corps, and indoor percussion competitions for over 40 years having judged 16 Drum Corps International world championship final contests, many Bands of America championship competitions, 14 World Guard International percussion championship finals, and numerous state marching band competitions. I have written for several drum and bugle corps, including ten years with Boston Crusaders. I composed the theme used on Drum Corps International broadcasts, and in former days, on the DCI DVDs and videos. I was elected to the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame in 2007.
The primary highlights of my life are my three wonderful children — Megan, Spencer, and Amanda — and one grandson, James, and being best friends with and husband to Mallory Thompson, artistic director of Northshore Concert Band.
Please share your favorite musical memories.
My grandmother took me to the movies for my first time and we saw The Music Man. That started my life-long love of musicals.
Seeing the original A Chorus Line on Broadway.
In one evening, hearing the Chicago Symphony Orchestra perform Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and then to a club to hear Ella Fitzgerald and her trio perform. An incredible evening of musical diversity and superb musicality!
Seeing a commercial for which I wrote the music on TV for the first time.
Playing with the Chicago Symphony when I was a student at Northwestern.
Working on a regular basis with the incredible studio musicians in LA recording music of mine.
What is on your Spotify playlist or in your music library?
A wide variety and mix of artists, genres, and styles. My listening tends to be eclectic.
Which composer/musician, past or present, would you most like to meet for a coffee and why?
I would like to meet any one of these artistic individuals - Joni Mitchell, Gustav Mahler, Stephen Sondheim, Prince, Bela Bartok, Bill Evans, Nat King Cole, or Christopher Nolan – to talk about creative philosophy, inspirations, and approaches.
What inspires you?
My wife, my kids, incredible performances by musicians in any style or genre, great works of art - be it musical composition, paintings, movies, poetry, dance, or literature.
What do you do to relax?
Travel. Meandering on streets in new destinations. Dining and exploring new restaurants. Reading. Going to movies, concerts, musicals, museums.
Do you have any advice for young musicians?
The path to a career in music is rarely linear. Even if you know the specific musical career path you want to pursue, be prepared to go through – and try to embrace – the inevitable and sometimes surprising shifts and changes in direction, as frustrating as some may be since all of those can add to your depth and breadth as a musician and person. My career is an example - I received a bachelor’s in music education and a master’s in percussion performance, but my career ended up in writing and higher education music administration.
Try to be patient and understand that you likely will hear the answer, “no,” often during your career, especially at the start. Despite that, stay focused and be diligent in pursuing your direction (sometimes challenging to do).
Have a sense of humor, especially about yourself. Stay humble. Be kind.
Always do the best at whatever you are doing and given the circumstances, knowing that you often may have limited resources, time, energy, and desire.
Stay true to yourself in pursuing your creativity. You are the only person who has the specific skill set you have and can do exactly what you can do in the way you do that. Enjoy that uniqueness and singularity!
Heed your intuition about certain situations, people, and your creativity. If you listen to it, it will help you in making good decisions.
Learn about business finance and intellectual property.
Be as well-rounded as possible, since that makes you a more interesting person. Read. Study history. Know what is going on in the world. Augment your knowledge and skillset by investigating musical areas beyond your specialty. Listen to all styles of music. Go to concerts, musicals, plays, and art museums. Do things for fun and relaxation outside of music. Strive to always enhance your ability to talk with people about a variety of non-music topics.
Please share any thoughts that you may have about the Northshore Concert Band.
NCB is an incredible organization due to the immense caring, passion, energy, and time that many people over many years have contributed to sustaining and maintaining its meaningful presence in the community. I had the fortune initially of experiencing that as the guest percussion soloist at a 1974 NCB concert when John Paynter was its director. Now, I have the privilege of being able to be a grateful beneficiary of experiencing those attributes frequently.
NCB provides a very important outlet for individuals, most all of whom have non-music performing careers, to continue to enjoy the collaborative experience of making music and providing musical connection and pleasure to the many members of each audience.
A special thank you to Jay Kennedy for speaking with us and giving permission to reproduce this material. Please visit his website jaykennedymusic.com to learn more about him and his work.
MAKING WAVES
Sunday, April 14, 2024, 3:00 p.m.
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Evanston, IL
Learn more about the Northshore Concert Band at www.northshoreband.org
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