Celebrating Bruce Kenney's Retirement: 40 Years with the ASO

Bruce Kenney, horn

This season, Bruce Kenney retires from the ASO after 40 years of service. He started with the orchestra in 1985 and has been an important member of the horn section since that time. He offered this reflection: “My journey as a musician began, honestly, I don’t know when. There’s an innate fascination, then some sort of noisemaker is put in your hands and you begin sorting out how to make differing sounds with it! Perhaps it’s not more complicated than that?

The music I heard growing up was American pop from the late 1950’s through the 1960’s. A glorious era, but not the diet to power this career! In those years, we were a military family (no musicians among us), moving regularly, and recruitment into music programs eluded me. Just before seventh grade, things changed and a French horn found me, but soon thereafter a guitar also found me, and it was much better suited to sussing out the tunes in my head. My high school band director, a gigging jazz guy, accepted this dichotomy in stride. But when I entered the University of Houston to study music theory, they had yet to develop a guitar program, so horn it was. The horn teachers were fine Houston Symphony musicians who gave me a more classic voice to pursue!

While my first professional work was on bass guitar, I soon got up to speed on the horn, and my twenties became a thrilling combo of principal horn performance with Houston Ballet, the Texas Opera Theater, and the Texas Chamber Orchestra, as well as a lot of wind quintet work.

My wife Mary is a cellist with the Atlanta Opera, and we’ve been together all the way—from high school orchestra, through university and Houston Ballet. We will celebrate our 48th anniversary in a few days!

When I auditioned for the ASO and Robert Shaw in 1985, Atlanta was bustling with a very full schedule of symphony concerts and summer pops at Chastain Park. We were prepping for a European tour, and Mr. Shaw was the music philosopher to the city. Digital recording was ablaze, and the brilliant folks at Telarc were industry leaders. Wonderful times!

I eventually became active in problem-solving behind the scenes as an orchestra committee leader. It’s rewarding and necessary work, and I commend those who continue it. I currently serve as President for the Atlanta Federation of Musicians, AFM Local 148-462.

Performing well is a matter of careful judgment and preparation, and when you’re in the middle of it all you can be too hard on yourself! But knowledge becomes wisdom, and experience can grow kindness towards yourself and others. These last few months have been intense. The ASO schedule always is from January through June, but this season has also been bittersweet and so tremendously rewarding. I have loved every moment.

If I’m a little sad to leave now, it’s not because I’ll miss playing, though I will! It’s because we, as an organization, have some things yet to be accomplished. Dream, prioritize, plan, and create— I believe in you!”

With Gratitude,
Bruce Kenney