Born in San Francisco, John-Edward Kelly has concertized extensively throughout Europe, in North and South America and in Israel, as well as in hundreds of international radio and television appearances, on film, and in 30 CD-recordings. Having given the first performances of more than 200 works for saxophone - including 29 concertos for saxophone and orchestra - his repertoire today consists primarily of works written expressly for him. In recent years he has returned increasingly to his musical origins in conducting, appearing often as both conductor and soloist.

John-Edward Kelly performs regularly as soloist with renowned orchestras, in recital with pianists Bob Versteegh and Bojan Gorišek and with the Alloys-Ensemble, which he founded in 1994. Highlights of the past seasons include performances with the Stockholm Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Deutsche Sinfonieorchester, Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Munich Philharmonic, Berliner Staatskapelle, Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Stuttgart, Gewandhaus Orchester, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestras, Dresdner Staatskapelle, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Polish Chamber Philharmonic, Orchester der Beethoven-Halle Bonn and the Radio Philharmonisch Orkest, Munich Chamber Orchestra and Radio Kamerorkest (Holland), to name but a few. He has also been active as lecturer and guest-professor (London, Den Haag, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Helsinki, Rochester, Stuttgart, Lyon, Oslo, York, etc.), and has published numerous articles concerning æsthetics, contemporary music and the saxophone. Among his credits are the first-ever solo CD-recording by a saxophonist and the 27-nation live broadcast première of Dimitri Terzakis’ saxophone concerto.

Extraordinary for a musician is the scope of Kelly’s interests: his university studies included Philosophy of Aesthetics and English Literature; he has held courses in general music for youth, in the ‘art of listening’ for dancers, and in acoustics for architects; and in addition to all of his musical activities he has also worked as an aviator and flight instructor. In 1981, Kelly was personally chosen by Sigurd Rascher to succeed him in the Rascher Quartet. During a decade as a member of this ensemble, he was instrumental in its development and responsible for many of the most renowned works of its repertoire. In 2004 he founded the Kelly Quartet, which already has attracted international attention for its energetic interpretations. He has been artistic director and conductor of the Arcos Chamber Orchestra in New York since 2005.

John-Edward Kelly has held professorships of contemporary chamber music and saxophone at the Robert Schumann Academy of Music in Düsseldorf and the Norwegian State Academy of Music in Oslo. He was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 1999. Kelly plays a saxophone built in 1928 according to the acoustical specifications of Adolphe Sax.

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Last revision: 20 August, 2004

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