Dr. Jay Kennedy
Jay Kennedy (Chicago, IL) Jay Kennedy’s career has followed a unique trajectory encompassing varied and successful experiences as a composer, arranger, producer, and entrepreneur, as well as a widely respected educator and administrative leader. After 28 years, he retired from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, at the end of 2022 as Vice President for Academic Affairs/Vice Provost. He received the Ph.D. from Boston College and Master of Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees from Northwestern University.
He has been an instructor in the UCLA Extension Program, percussionist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and at the start of his career, held the positions of Assistant Director of the Marching Band and co-director of the Jazz Ensemble at Northwestern University.
Prior to joining Berklee, Kennedy composed and produced music for hundreds of television and radio commercials in Chicago and Los Angeles, for which he received numerous awards. Kennedy’s music has also been heard in feature films, including Wayne’s World, Electric Horsemen, and Lethal Weapon 2. His television credits include writing for episodic series, such as past TV classics, Judging Amy and All My Children. A veteran of the recording industry, Kennedy has written and produced music for Sheryl Crow, Siedah Garrett, James Ingram, Patti Austin, Little Richard, Stanley Clarke, and Brenda Russell. He was a Grammy Award finalist in 2002 for arrangements on the recording Virtuosi, by Gary Burton and Makoto Ozone.
His published works include works for concert band, percussion ensemble, jazz ensemble, marching band, many of which can be found on his website: jaykennedymusic.com. Kennedy has been an active adjudicator for marching band, drum corps, and indoor percussion competitions for over 35 years and has written for several drum and bugle corps, including ten years with Boston Crusaders. He was elected to the DCI Hall of Fame in 2007 for his longtime contributions as an adjudicator, judge administrator, arranger, and composer.