News & Calendar

 

Hello again!

I hope this finds you well. It has been a very fulfilling 2022-2023 season so far, full of early music, contemporary premieres, improvisatory performance, new opera workshops, shanties (!), and everything in between. Some of you may also know that I focused on developing a side-career as a photographer most recently. You can check that out on IG: claytonkennedy.art

Flowers! Jardins botaniques. Sigma 600mm reflex lens does wild things. #tulips #magnolia #montrealphotographer #sigma600mmf8mirrorlens #lesjardinsbotaniquesdemontréal #flowerporn #macro
A really special experience. Louis L'Étourneau asked me if I wanted to meet him this morning, to see if I could get some photos of the new fox kits that had joined the world. I was fortunate enough last year to get some photos of the previous
A dream. Sigma 600mm reflex lens. #lesjardinsbotaniquesdemontréal #reflexlens #dream #sigma600mmf8mirrorlens #montrealphotographer
Got some new gear over the weekend, courtesy of a friend. A long stripbox, plus a giant reflector / diffuser. Large, soft, light sources are your friend <3 DxO processing is not recommended for studio portraits... it adds a flat universality to
A fortunate moon. Lumix 35-100mm f/2.8. Even cropped in, quite sharp. #lumix35100 #moonporn #blue #moon #beautiful
It was a really pretty sunset last night. I was lucky to take a few pictures at the tail end of it. Lumix 35-100mm was handy, and then I cropped the image. #lumix35100 #sunset #steeple #cloudporn #ooo #montrealphotographer #balconyview

I have overall fallen behind on updating this website. It is strange how social media makes a website feel a bit obsolete… but I will put my nose to the grindstone.

I am happy to share here news of upcoming concerts, collaborations—as well as new audio and video! If you want to collaborate in any of the above capacities, I would be happy to hear from you!

Clayton Kennedy, baritone

New album available!
Check most streaming platforms, or go here to purchase: https://chorleoni.org/product/shanties-live/

CONCERT SCHEDULE:


Photo: CK

Photo: Tam Lan Truong

Featured
Ensemble Telemann - Bach BWV 235 - Mass in G minor - Gratias agimus tibi -
Ensemble Telemann - Bach BWV 235 - Mass in G minor - Gratias agimus tibi -

https://youtu.be/r7Yrij7IEJU?t=10m55s

Ensemble Caprice - Bach BWV 106 - Actus tragicus, noncerto video
Ensemble Caprice - Bach BWV 106 - Actus tragicus, noncerto video

Click title for video.

Reviews:

"The second piece was I will fly like a bird, by composer John Plant and librettist J. Andrew Wainwright. This was a fully staged production of a concert opera that debuted in Halifax in May 2012 about the death of Robert Dziekanski after being tasered by police at Vancouver airport. The orchestra, on stage behind the singers, provided much more than accompaniment, even contributing vocal counterpoint. The clarinet of Dominic Desautels was an outstanding addition to The Blue Engine String Quartet and the piano playing of composer John Plant. Baritone Clayton Kennedy as Dziekanski gave a formidably dramatic performance. Mezzo-soprano Marcia Swanston, as his mother, portrayed the intense burden of unbearable maternal grief eloquently and beautifully. The stage was creatively set to suggest clouds in the sky, or the wings of a plane, one which much of the libretto was projected. This exquisite opera deserves repeated outings." - Daphna Leavit, Opera Canada, fall 2015

 

"...le baryton Clayton Kennedy livra un Offertorium particulièrement puissant."
-Pieuvre.ca

 

"Kennedy and Swanston were perfectly suited to their roles vocally and flawlessly balanced. They could not reach each other yet powerfully conveyed their hope and longing to do so."
-Daphna Leavit, Opera Canada, winter 2012

 

"...sang powerfully... with considerable mastery of diction."
-The Chronicle Herald

CBC news feature on Robert Dziekanski opera

CBC news covers John Plant and J.A. Wainwright's "I will fly like a bird: a tribute to Robert Dziekanski" featuring Blue Engine String Quartet, Marcia Swanston, mezzo soprano, Clayton Kennedy, baritone. Click HERE for video. 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/robert-dziekanski-s-life-told-in-opera-1.1128021