Kenneth Jennings


Kenneth L. Jennings was an American choral conductor and composer. He was the Harry R. and Thora Helseth Tosdal Professor of Music Emeritus and Director Emeritus of the St. Olaf Choir. He was a published arranger, composer, and choral music educator.

Biography

Jennings grew up in Fairfield and Westport, Connecticut. He was an alumnus of St. Olaf College and sang as a member of the St. Olaf Choir. He received his master's degree from Oberlin College and his doctorate from the University of Illinois. Jennings was appointed to the faculty of St. Olaf College in 1953, and became the third director of the internationally renowned St. Olaf Choir in 1968, succeeding founder F. Melius Christiansen and his son-successor, Olaf Christiansen. He retired from St. Olaf College in 1990, turning over the podium to his former student, Anton Armstrong.
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.
Jennings died at his home in Northfield, Minnesota, aged 90.

Work as a conductor

Jennings became noted for guiding and maturing the St. Olaf Choir from an ensemble rooted substantially in its early twentieth 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 third director of the ensemble, he also modified the tradition of programming exclusively unaccompanied music. Jennings prepared the choir to record Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé with the Minnesota Orchestra under the direction of Stanisław 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, Bach specialist Helmuth Rilling, British organist Simon Preston, and Robert Shaw. Jennings led the choir on twelve international tours, most notably to France, Norway, and to Seoul, Korea, for the 1988 Summer Olympics Arts Festival.
After his retirement from St. Olaf in 1990, he served as a visiting professor and choral conductor at Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Arizona in Tucson. Jennings served as the guest conductor at anniversary concerts in honor of F. Melius Christiansen.

Publications

N.B.: These lists may not be complete. Some works may be out of print or available only as print-on-demand or online downloads.

Compositions

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.
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.