 New Hope, PA 1979 |
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BIOGRAPHY
Martin Hennessy is becoming increasingly known as a composer for the voice with a growing catalogue of art song, chamber music, opera and musical theater. Vox 2006: Showcasing American Composers recently presented an extended excerpt of his opera, A Letter to East 11th Street with George Manahan conducting the New York City Opera orchestra. His Four Ben Jonson Songs won first prize in the 2005 San Francisco Song Festival and received their San Francisco and Boston premiers to generous critical praise.
Hennessy's largest work to date is the musical Edgar, inspired by Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," which was developed over two years by Live Arts Theater in Charlottesville and produced as an equity showcase by Vital Theatre Company in New York City.
He has received awards from ASCAP, Meet the Composer, two grants from the American Music Center as well as two commissions from The Estate Project for Artists with AIDS. His music has been presented by the New York Festival of Song, American Opera Projects, the Guggenheim Works and Process Series, the Harvard Ballet Company, Positive Music and Dancers Responding to AIDS. |
Mr. Hennessy has been openly HIV positive since 1993 when he began working with Positive Music, an organization of classical musicians furthering visibility and awareness of AIDS that premiered many of his first compositions.
A keen interest in language and poetry together with his exemplary accompaniments, continue to make him a highly prized recital partner and vocal coach. He has toured throughout the world with the Bel Canto Trio and the Ambassadors of Opera. In addition to being awarded a two year conducting/coaching fellowship at Juilliard's American Opera Center, he has served on the faculties of Carlo Bergonzi’s Bel Canto Seminar in Busseto, Italy, Joan Dornemann’s Opera Training Institute in North Carolina and Bennington College in Vermont. He is also a recording artist and consultant for www.musacom.com, a pedagogical website for classical singers. He attended the Foreign Service School at Georgetown University and later earned a degree in English magna cum laude at Columbia University. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.
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