King’s new bass

King’s new bass

News

norman lebrecht

May 29, 2024

After a lengthy audition process, the King’s Singers have chosen Piers Connor Kennedy as their next bass.

He replaces Jonathan Howard, who departs after 14 years.

Kennedy has held a composing residency at St Peter’s College, Oxford. He has sung with The Tallis Scholars, Tenebrae, and Sansara.

Comments

  • lucas says:

    Good choice.

  • La plus belle voix says:

    Welcome news. Let’s hope they can restore the pyramid.

  • TheSingingCanon says:

    Piers has a wonderful voice and has composed some beautiful pieces of music too. Many congratulations!

  • pjl says:

    Johnny is also a wonderful singer (ex New College); I bought his tiny flat in Oxford when he moved to London in 2017.

  • zandonai says:

    Congratulations.

    Also we need a competition for genuine female CONTRALTOS they’re all but extinct. Only two I know and one is dead, the other is Jess Dandy.

    I would also offer BIG $$$ for a genuine male CASTRATO (no questions asked). I’m so sick and tired of hearing the whiny countertenors.

    • La plus belle voix says:

      What does this have to do with the price of fish?

    • MWnyc says:

      If you only know of two contraltos, you haven’t been paying attention.

      Samuel Mariño is not, as far as one knows, a castrato per se, but his voice (speaking as well as singing) never changed at puberty, so he’s likely as close you we’ll get today. Bruno de Sá, another male soprano from South America, says his voice changed a bit at puberty but not a lot; his speaking voice could pass as male or female, but his high soprano singing sounds quite natural.

      This is all off-topic for this post, of course.

      • zandonai says:

        Sure there are many ‘contraltos’ but few genuine ones.

        Re: castratos, Samuel Mariño (whom I have heard one time in person) and Bruno de Sá are very good countertenors (and David Daniels back in the day) but still don’t cut it. When Handel could not find a castrato, he ALWAYS reassigned the role to a female singer, like when Senesino in “Rodelinda” had a take a sick leave, for example.

  • Catherine Fischer says:

    Congratulations, Piers! Eager to meet you and welcome you to the KS Global Family!

  • Michael Turner (conductor) says:

    A good choice. Always enjoyed both his singing and compositions when I used to attend Christ Church Oxford regularly.

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