Photo by J. Demetrie
Music director, singer, and actor Erin Kennedy is passionate about creating joyful, accessible performances of both contemporary and classical music.
Her experience in opera, musical theater, and choral music as both music director and performer make her an artist with diverse interests who is at home in and behind the scenes of multiple genres.
JANE EYRE – January 18-20
This January, Erin is thrilled to return to Off-Brand Opera as the music director of Jane Eyre The Musical. This musical’s sweeping score and incorporation of both classical and modern musical influences lends itself to Erin’s signature interdisciplinary style, and the cast features singers from both operatic and musical theatre backgrounds. See the show at Theatre at St. Jeans on the Upper East Side from January 18-20!
Performances
January 18-20 at 7:30PM
Theatre at St. Jeans | 150 W 76th St.
RECENT NEWS
PIETÀ — September 10 @ 7 PM
Nearly two years after performing in the world premiere video of Jake Landau & Andrea DelGiudice’s new opera, Pietà, Erin rejoined the original cast for the first live reading of this work in NYC. This public industry reading was presented by Off-Brand Opera in Opera America’s Marc Scorca Hall, with a reception to follow.
FALLING — September 10 @ 9:30 PM
Erin made her Green Room 42 music directing debut with a new cabaret called Falling, the first performance by Russell & Rose Productions. The cabaret tells a love story from many angles, inviting the audience to explore the passion and excitement of a budding romance, the tension and pain of conflict with those we love, and the bittersweet relief of moving on. This evening featured an unmissable set of Broadway classics performed in both traditional and new interepretations (arranged by Erin!) that show off this talented cast’s flexibility and range!
RUDDIGORE – November 10-12
This fall, Erin returned to Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company—this time, on the other side of operations! Erin was thrilled to music direct and conduct this year’s production of Ruddigore, a richly-scored story of cursed baronets and hidden identity.
A STITCH IN TIME: A NEW MUSICAL – Summer 2023
“The lithe, regal and captivating Erin Kennedy’s scheming First Lady characterization is a delicious blend of icy hauteur and emotional volatility. Ms. Kennedy’s experience as an opera performer is evidenced by her soaring vocals and charismatic stage presence.”
This summer, Erin appeared in A Stitch in Time, a new musical with book & lyrics by Claude Solnik and music by Gary Edwards at Theater for the New City. This modern retelling of The Emperor’s New Clothes is a timeless and topical comedy taking place in the kingdom—I mean, country—of Erehwon, where a deluded President learns the value of love and truth with the help of his beloved First Lady (Erin) and his people.
PREVIOUSLY…
This April, Erin made her debut with the York Theatre Company as a music director and pianist at GenYork, a concert featuring the work of composers under the age of 35. See her next as a music director for Ruddigore with the Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company in November 2023!
Off-Brand Opera returned this December with a fresh take on Carousel, the beloved Rogers & Hammerstein classic. Presented in restaurant Bella Ciao’s intimate basement cabaret space, the production allowed audiences to participate in an immersive experience with artists from a variety of performance backgrounds. Erin co-founded Off-Brand Opera in November 2021 as a new theater company dedicated to storytelling across genres and challenging traditional performance practices. Other productions with Off-Brand Opera include Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife), SPARK, an experimental concert (singer, pianist, devisor, and translator), and Riders to the Sea (producer). Learn more about Off-Brand Opera and its upcoming projects at offbrandopera.org!
In November 2022, Erin debuted with the Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance at the Fair Lawn Community Center in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. In summer 2022, she returned to the Narnia Festival International Vocal Arts Program as Belinda in a double bill of Dido & Aeneas and & Aeterna, a new sequel opera composed by Jake Landau with libretto by Emily Garber. She also performed the role of Echo in the mini-musical Echo & Narcissus, another Landau-Garber composition. In March 2022, Erin made her debut with the Light Opera of New Jersey in La Bohème, singing “Angel,” a new role conceived by director Andrea DelGiudice, and covering the role of Musetta.
Erin is also thrilled to be a collaborator and performer (Lou Salomé) in the development of Nietzsche! The Musical, a new work by Kimerer LaMothe and Geoffrey Gee. Nietzsche! premiered at the Fort Salem Theater in Salem, NY in August 2021 and is expected to make its NYC debut in 2023.
BEHIND THE SCENES
In addition to onstage work, Erin is passionate about choral singing and has extensive experience as a choral conductor and director. As a classically trained pianist with a long background in collaborative piano, she has accompanied choirs, solo vocalists & instrumentalists, as well as musical theater productions. Erin puts her instrumental skills to use as a vocal coach, accompanist, and music director; she also teaches piano and voice to a private studio of students.
Erin graduated magna cum laude from Williams College, where she earned a B.A. in Music with Highest Honors. She studies voice with Andrea DelGiudice. Erin lives in NYC with fiancé Tom and their dying collection of houseplants.
