The Carnyx Comes to YMS

The Yehudi Menuhin School was delighted to welcome John Kenny, Professor of Trombone at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, last Thursday for a day of workshops and a special private recital, alongside internationally acclaimed soprano, Adaya Peled. The visit was hosted by John Cooney, Head of Composition & Academic Music. 

John Kenny is a trombonist, composer, improviser, musical archaeologist and actor who has performed as a soloist in over 40 countries, specialising in contemporary, improvised and early music. He is a founding member of the European Music Archaeology Project (EMAP) and in 1993 became the first person in 2,000 years to play the giant Celtic war horn known as the Deskford Carnyx. Since then, he has created a unique repertoire for the instrument, featured on eight CDs as well as in film soundtracks and video games, including Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. He later became the first person to play the Tintignac Carnyx and the Etruscan Litus and Cornu. 

Since 1997, he has been Artistic Director of Carnyx & Co., and since 1983 Musical Director of TNT Theatre Co and the American Drama Group Europe, touring music theatre productions worldwide. He teaches at several leading institutions and in 2017 received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Trombone Association. 

His collaborator, Adaya Peled, has performed with ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and is currently a member of the teaching staff at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She performs widely as a soloist and chamber musician and is a core member of Ensemble+, which won the top ensemble prize at the René Arons International Improvisation Competition in 2024. 

Together with Kenny and lyrist Julian Cuvillez, Peled also performs in Antika Arkana, a project exploring ancient instruments such as the lyre and the carnyx in both historical and newly commissioned repertoire. She is currently pursuing doctoral artistic research at the Guildhall School. 

Pupils and staff were thrilled to hear the carnyx in a special lunchtime concert featuring music written for the instrument alongside more traditional trombone repertoire. The programme included two world premieres by Irish composer Mary Kelly: one a reimagining of a chant by Hildegarde von Bingen, and the other a setting of part of The Song of Solomon. The concert concluded with Kenny’s own 14-minute audiovisual work Multiplex, created in collaboration with Scottish artist Kenneth McQueenie. 

The workshops explored writing for brass instruments, timbre, history and repertoire, and included a demonstration of the 12-foot carnyx and advice on composing for ancient instruments. 

Reflecting on the visit, John Kenny said it was ‘delightful to be back’ at the Menuhin Hall, with which he has had a long-standing relationship of over 20 years and he hoped he had given pupils and staff alike ‘a real insight’ into the important work Carnyx and Co. do to restore, reconstruct, preserve and play these remarkable ancient instruments.  

Speaking of his work with the ‘wonderful’ soprano Adaya Peled, Kenny explained: ‘There is something very natural about working with voices. The trombone, from its earliest inception, has a great repertoire with voices. It's effectively a choral instrument within an orchestra, but in the contemporary sense, I have been at pains to commission music for voice and both of trombone and carnyx.’ 

Deputy Director of Music, Marco Galvani, said: ‘It is vital for our pupils, especially our young composers, to gain a deep understanding of the full spectrum of orchestral instruments and beyond. John Kenny’s visit has been great in highlighting these extraordinary instruments, as well as the importance of preserving them for future generations.’ 

We thank John and Adaya for visiting YMS and look forward to future collaborations and further opportunities to inspire our young musicians.