Nigel Kennedy

One of Britain's finest violinists, Nigel Kennedy is a colourful and controversial musician, a master of classical music and one always eager to experiment and explore other areas, thus blurring the boundaries between classical, rock, jazz and folk.

The grandson of Lauri Kennedy (principal cellist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1929 until 1935) and the son of John Kennedy (principal cellist with the Royal Philharmonic), Nigel was a child prodigy and a pupil at the Yehudi Menuhin School of Music. When he was studying at the Juilliard School in New York at the age of 16, he was invited to appear with the great jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli at Carnegie Hall. In 1989 he recorded one of the biggest-selling classical records ever, Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons' with the English Chamber Orchestra, selling more than two million copies around the world. Kennedy moved away from classical music to collaborate with Stephen Duffy on 'Music in Color' in 1999, improvised interpretations of Jimi Hendrix compositions with The Kennedy Experience, and then linked up with Jaz Coleman to experiment similarly with the music of The Doors.

In 1997 he received a BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music followed four years later by Male Artist of the Year. He went on to collaborate with more of his favourite artists including The Who, Kate Bush, Sarah Brightman and he released an album of Jewish klezmer music with Polish jazz band Kroke. In 2016 he released brand new album 'My World' featuring performances of self-composed works accompanied by the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. Live performances in 2018 included several for Kennedy Meets Gershwin.