John Kenny: The Mouthpiece of the Gods

31 Mar 2023 7.15-10pm

Overview

Join John Kenny, internationally acclaimed trombone soloist and the world’s first player for 2,000 years of the great Celtic war horn, the Carnyx, for a unique musical event which is part recital and part a detective story.

Kenny puts the Carnyx in context by showing how it is related to a great family of instruments world-wide, from the dawn of time to the present day, by performing music on instruments from many periods and cultures: trombone, sackbut, Polynesian Conch, Mayan Pod Trumpets, alphorn, didgeridoo, and magnificent Irish Bronze and Iron Age horns. As the story unfolds, he will show you the great Tintignac Carnyx of ancient Gaul, the litus made by the Etruscans, lost after ethnic cleansing by Rome, that is now reconstructed in collaboration with the European Early Music Project.

A selection of CDs are available after the concert and also from the Carnyx & Co website, which reflect the wide range of Kenny’s work and interests. All proceeds support research and development in music archaeology and the development of revolutionary musical instruments that enable profoundly physically disabled musicians to perform at professional level.

A trombonist, composer and actor, John Kenny has performed and broadcast as a soloist in over 50 nations as an interpreter of contemporary, improvised and early music. Since 1983 he has been musical director of the TNT Theatre Company, currently based in Munich, composing and performing in productions which have toured worldwide for 35 years.

John Kenny is also a founder member of the European Music Archaeology Project and in 1993 became the first person for 2000 years to play the great Celtic war horn known as the carnyx. He is professor of trombone at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and of sackbut at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and regularly gives masterclasses and lectures at conservatoires and universities throughout Europe, the USA and Asia. In 2017 he was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the international Trombone Association in Los Angeles – one of only two British musicians ever to receive this accolade.

TIMELINE

19:15 doors

19:30-21:00 concert

21:00 - 22:00 open bar

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