Munday, Kenneth E.

Principal bassoonist, since the mid-’70s, for the L.A. Chamber Orchestra, who co-founded the L.A. Chamber Orchestra Winds and has performed with the chamber groups L’eau, Musical Offering, and the Westwood Wind Quintet.

He appeared with the latter on 14^th January 1977 as a part of the South Bay Chamber Music Society, Inc.’s series of concerts, in a program that ranged from Baroque composer Jan Pieters Sweelinck to 20^th-century composers such as Samuel Barber, Ingolf Dahl, Paul Hindemith, and Gyorgy Ligeti. A couple of months later, also under the umbrella of the SBCMS, he returned as a member of Musical Offering, in an all-Baroque affair.

One of Kenneth’s early recordings is Frank Sinatra’s boxed set, Trilogy, released in 1979. In 1980, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra tackled Arnold Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony and 5 Pieces, Op. 16, on the Nonesuch label.

On 29^th March 1981, Musical Offering appeared at Carnegie Recital Hall, this time including Sonata No. 5 in F by Jan Zelenka, whose music Kenneth champions. Zelenka also figured in the program they played on 23^rd February 1983 at the 92^nd Street Y in New York. That same year, the LACO released a recording of Handel’s Water Music.

In 1984, they released an album of music by the Russian revolutionaries, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich, whilst Musical Offering released Viva Vivaldi: Festive Chamber Music for Woodwinds and Strings. A year later, Kenneth played bassoon on the soundtrack of The Color Purple, one of many soundtracks on which he would appear.

Other film credits include American Dreamz, August Rush, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, Bridge to Terabithia, Bruce Almighty, Dark Water, Elektra, Hidalgo, Inside Man, King Kong(2005), The Legend of Zorro, Signs, The Terminal, Under the Tuscan Sun, War of the Worlds, and X-Men: The Last Stand.

In 1989, Kenneth appeared on Bach-Malloch: The Art of Fuguing and Carol Rosenberger Plays Beethoven. The 1990s were a no less prolific time for him: He performed on the recordings Baby Needs Beethoven, Baby Needs Mozart, Immortal Beethoven, Intimate Encounters, Mozart, Beethoven: Piano and Wind Quintets, and 6 Brandenburgische Konzerte, BWV 1046-1051.

In 1995, he appeared in a concert entitled Baroque Visions and Contemporary Reflections as part of the Pacific Serenades. Four years later, he performed the Duet-Concertino of Richard Strauss, which he also recorded on Nonesuch.

Kenneth hasn’t slowed down in the new millennium, either. On 26^th February 2003, he performed Beethoven’s Septet, Op. 20, at California State University in Fullerton, where he also teaches. He celebrated Christmas with the LACO later that year as part of their Holiday Hijinks! concert.

In 2004, he performed Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Santa Fe Pro Musicaat Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and appeared on the classical music compilation, Girls Gotta Dance!.

On 29^th June 2005, he played bassoon on Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in E flat major for Flute, Oboe, Horn, Bassoon and Orchestra, K. 297B, at the University of Oregon School of Music.

In 2006, he had an opportunity to showcase Zelenka’s Trio Sonata No. 1 in F major at Colburn School of Performing Arts, and appeared on Danny Elfman’s inaugural concert piece, Serenada Schizophrana. He also recorded Luciana Berio’s Sequenzas I-XIV on the Naxos label.

2007 was an especially busy year: He recorded Janacek: Idyll; Mladi with the LACO; On 12^thMay, he performed Wolfgang Gernot’s Common Ground with cello player Armen Ksajikianin a program entitled Made in California, as part of the LACO’s Music at the Jazz Bakery series; He reprised this piece about three months later with David Speltz at the Idyllwild Arts Academy; On 27^th November, he was featured in the LACO’s concert Inspired Beginnings playing Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto in B flat major.

In early 2008, he once again dusted off Zelenka in a concert at La Crescenta Presbyterian Church in California for the Crescenta Valley Arts Council.

He performs the music of Giuseppe Vasapolli in a studio session for a movie or TV score…

Sources:

Munday, Kenneth E.

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