Christopher Kenniff, classical guitarist, is a critically acclaimed soloist & chamber musician who is frequently heard as a member of the acclaimed ensemble Duo Fresco: New Directions for Viola & Guitar and with acclaimed soprano Katherine Harris in Duo Cantiga. The Newark Star Ledger has described him as having “a lush, liquid tone, remarkably clean fingering and a nicely varied touch,” while Classical New Jersey writes “Kenniff’s presentation and playing stood out among the concerts of the Access to Art Series. His quiet, poignant play with dynamics was mesmerizing… his playing was idiomatic, beautifully voiced, and technically flawless … he left the listeners with the impression that he himself was thrilled to give the performance.” Mr. Kenniff has won First Prizes in several competitions (most notably Concour de Guitarre, Domaine Forget, Quebec, Canada; Music Teachers’ National Association Wurlitzer Collegiate Artists’ Competition).
Mr. Kenniff has premiered works by Emma Lou Diemer, Frank Ezra Levy, Matthew Halper, Raymond Wojcik, Paul Mack Somers, John Sichel, Sergio Parrotti and others. He will premiere a new work for guitar, viola & choir composed for him by Samuel Adler and a new concerto by Max Simoncic this season. Mr. Kenniff has performed at the Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival (Juneau, Alaska), the Chautauqua Festival (Chautauqua, NY), the Bowdoin Festival (New Brunswick, ME), The Crossroads of Tradition Festival (Bloomington, IN) and the Access to Art Chamber Music Festival (Cape May, NJ).
Mr. Kenniff is a member of Kean University’s Concert Artist Faculty and is the founder and director of the American String Teacher’s Association of New Jersey’s annual Chamber Music Institute (ASTA/NJ CMI) at Kean University. He has been recognized for contributions as a music educator by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and was named 2008 Studio Teacher of the year by the American String Teacher’s Association of New Jersey. His students are frequent award winners and many have continued their studies at the nation’s top collegiate and conservatory programs. Mr. Kenniff has presented workshops & master classes for ASTA/NJ, MENC, NJ State Council on the Arts, Music for All Seasons, the St. Louis Guitar Society and various collegiate/university music programs. He has recorded two compact discs: Transfiguration (works by Halper, DeFalla, Purcell, Kioulaphides and Adler) and Christopher Kenniff plays works by Turina, Ponce, Roussell, Tedesco, Dowland, Scarlatti and Mertz.
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