Kenneth Amis (born 1970) is a Bermudian

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

player and composer best known for his association with the Empire Brass. He is also the assistant conductor of the MIT Wind Ensemble, a group he has been involved with since its creation in 1999. In addition, as of 2005, Amis is an Affiliated Artist of MIT. He was born and raised in

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. He began studying at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

at age 16. After that, he earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from the New England Conservatory of Music. Amis held the International Brass Chair at the Royal Academy of Music in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He teaches at

Lynn University Lynn University is a private university in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. Founded in 1962, the university awards Associate degree, associate, Bachelor's degree, baccalaureate, Master's degree, master's, and Doctorate, doctoral Academic degr ...

. Amis is the first known person to transcribe Bach's Art of Fugue for wind ensemble (all of the fugues and canons). He currently resides in Norwood, Massachusetts. Amis was the Project Director and editor of the book: ''The Brass Player's Cookbook: Creative Recipes for a Successful Performance.'' He also authored a chapter entitled ''Are You Just Another Crescendoing Vibrator? ''

Performances

At many Empire Brass concerts, Amis performs the piano solo from the third movement of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's Sonata in A on his tuba. In addition to his work with the Empire Brass, Amis has performed on tuba for: *

English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. With a limited performance size, the orchestra spe ...

* Tanglewood Festival Orchestra * New World Symphony Orchestra * Palm Beach Opera Orchestra

Compositions and commissions

His first published work was ''A Suite for Bass Tuba'', composed when he was fifteen years old. He has been commissioned to write music for many groups including: * Belmont High School Band *The Massachusetts Instrumental Conductors Association *New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble *

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took ...

*College Band Directors National Association *Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston *Boston Classical Orchestra *MIT Wind Ensemble

List of Compositions

* ''Preludes for French Horn, No. 1-5'' by Kenneth Amis * ''Preludes for Trombone, No. 1-5'' by Kenneth Amis

Teaching

Amis is on the faculty at the Longy School of Music, the Boston Conservatory,

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

, and

Awards

* Outstanding Alumni Award, New England Conservatory of Music, 2003

References

External links

Kenneth AmisAmis Musical Circle
1970 births Living people Bermudian musicians African-American classical composers American classical composers African-American male classical composers American male conductors (music) African-American conductors (music) American classical tubists Boston University alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty Academics of the Royal Academy of Music People from Norwood, Massachusetts American male classical composers 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century tubists 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians {{US-composer-20thC-stub