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The American choral conductor and composer and choral conducting teacher, Kenneth L. Jennings, grew up in Fairfield and Westport, Connecticut. A graduate of St. Olaf, he sang as a member of the St. Olaf Choir as an undergraduate. He received his Master of Music degree in Composition from Oberlin College and his Doctorate in Choral Conducting from the University of Illinois.
Kenneth Jennings was appointed to the faculty of St. Olaf College in 1953, and ascended to one of the world's most coveted choral podiums in 1968 as the 3rd director of the internationally renowned St. Olaf Choir, succeeding founder F. Melius Christiansen and his son-successor, Olaf C. Christiansen. He retired from St. Olaf College in 1990, turning over the podium to his former student, Anton Armstrong.
Kenneth Jennings became noted for guiding and maturing the St. Olaf Choir from an ensemble rooted substantially in its early 20th century formation to ascend as ranking among the world's most highly respected choral ensembles. A former student and colleague of Olaf Christiansen, Jennings understood and respected the choir's distinct Lutheran tradition in his programming. However, as the 3rd director of the ensemble, he also modified the tradition of programming exclusively unaccompanied music. As director of the St. Olaf Choir he became noted for guiding and maturing the group from one rooted substantially in its 1911 era founding to arguably one of the most highly respected choral ensembles of the world. Never forsaking the choir's Lutheran heritage, he successfully broadened the ensemble's repertoire to include works of noted composers of the post-World War II era. He led performances of the St. Olaf Choir in all major performing centers of the USA and on twelve international tours in Europe and Asia, including music festivals in Belgium, France (where he led the St. Olaf Choir, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and international soloists in J.S. Bach's Mass in B minor (BWV 232) for the opening concert of the 1972 Strasbourg International Music Festival), Germany, Holland, Italy, Norway (for the Bergen International Festival), and Korea (for the 1988 Summer Olympics Arts Festival in Seoul). Under his leadership, the St. Olaf Choir also had a long and distinguished collaboration with the Minnesota Orchestra under the baton of Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and Neville Marriner. He prepared the St. Olaf Choirto record Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé with the Minnesota Orchestra under the direction of Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and during his tenure, he arranged for several notable conductors to rehearse and lead the St. Olaf Choir in concert, including Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, J.S. Bach specialist Helmuth Rilling, British organist Simon Preston, and Robert Shaw.
After his retirement from St. Olaf in 1990, Kenneth Jennings served as Visiting Professor and Choral Conductor at Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Arizona in Tucson. He served as the guest conductor at anniversary concerts in honor of F. Melius Christiansen (the 125th in 1996 and the 135th in 2006).
Kenneth Jennings was known for writing well-crafted choral works for advanced choirs. His writing is marked by the elegant and efficient part-writing, voluptuous harmonies and great attention to the meaning of the text. His continuing work as a composer includes commissions from the Dale Warland Singers, Cantus, Luther College, Gustavus Adolphus College, Kansas All-State Choir, Angelica Cantanti Choirbrook and the Choral Masterworks Series of historic recordings of the St. Olaf Choir. His numerous compositions and editions are widely published.
In addition to his music publications and recordings, Kenneth Jennings was the teacher and mentor of many prominent choral conductors, most notably René Clausen, composer, and conductor of The Concordia Choir; Anton Armstrong, his successor as conductor of the St. Olaf Choir; Craig Arnold, former conductor of Luther College's Nordic Choir; Bradley Ellingboe, Director of Choral Studies at University of New Mexico; John Helgen, composer; and Craig Hella Johnson, conductor.
His wife, Carolyn Jennings, is also an emerita professor of music at St. Olaf. Among three children, his son, Mark Jennings, is currently director of Choral Activities at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. Kenneth Jennings died at his home in Northfield, Minnesota, aged 90. |
