About

In 1983 Mary Kenedi made her New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall, in a programme of works by Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Mozart, Chopin and a new Canadian work written for her.

Devoted to the music of Bartók, she has come to be recognized as one of the foremost exponents of this composer in Canada and internationally.  She has also organized fundraising concerts for the restoration of Bartók’s summer home in Saranac Lake. A highlight of her connection to Bartók was presenting a recital in the Bartók Memorial House in Budapest.

In 1999 she was invited by the Hungarian Ambassador to play at the National Gallery in Ottawa at a gala dinner for Prime Minister Jean Chretien to celebrate the joining of NATO by Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

Also close to her heart is the dissemination of the music of Canadian contemporary composers, by commissioning, performing and recording their works. She has commissioned several piano concerti, solo pieces, and a choral fantasy from composers such as Mary Gardiner, Larysa Kuzmenko, Abigail Richardson, Michael Horwood and Kevin Lau.  In 2019 she will be performing with her chamber ensemble a newly commissioned quintet by Jordan Pal.

She has performed concerts in Canada, the United States, Cuba, New Zealand, Australia and in Europe. Ms. Kenedi has also collaborated with several orchestras, among them the York Symphony, Sault Symphony, Niagara Symphony, Windsor Symphony in Canada, also the North Czech Philharmonic and Debrecen Philharmonic in Europe.

Ms. Kenedi’s recordings are available on her own label “Echiquier”, on Centrediscs and the Naxos label. These consist of the works of Bartók, Kodály, Canadian composers and concerti by Bartók, Bloch and the Australian composer Michael Easton. This last work was recorded at the European premier in Teplice, in the Czech Republic, with Charles Olivieri-Munro as conductor. Her Naxos CD consists of the chamber works of Nino Rota, a disc that has received international acclaim.

While passionate about performing and recording, Ms. Kenedi enjoys her teaching at the North Toronto Institute of Music, of which she is Director.

Camerata Canadiana Quintet

Camerata Canadiana is a newly formed chamber ensemble consisting of some of Toronto’s most in-demand performers. They are dedicated to performances of divergent repertoire that expands the canon of chamber music, including  newly commissioned Canadian works. In 2020, Camerata Canadiana will premiere a newly commissioned work by Canadian composer Jordan Pal.

 Camerata Canadiana is:
Jessica Murphy (violin),
Brenna Hardy-Kavanagh (viola),
Kendra Grittani (cello),
Jesse Dietschi (double bass),
Mary Kenedi (piano).