Anne Gamble Kennedy facts for kids

Anne Gamble Kennedy (born September 25, 1920, died June 11, 2001) was a talented American classical pianist. She was also a piano professor and played for the famous Fisk Jubilee Singers in Nashville, Tennessee.

Early Life and Education

Growing Up in West Virginia

Anne Lucille Gamble was born in Charleston, West Virginia. Her parents were Dr. Henry Floyd Gamble and Nina Hortense Clinton. Anne was the younger of their two children. She also had two older step-siblings. When Anne was eleven, her father sadly died in a car accident in 1932.

Her grandmother on her father's side was born into slavery. This happened on the Howard's Neck Plantation in Goochland County, Virginia. Her grandfather, Henry Harmon Gamble, worked as a foreman on the same plantation. He had Scots-Irish and Native-American heritage. Anne's mother taught music in high school. She was also a member of Frederick J. Loudin's Jubilee Singers.

Friendship with Marian Anderson

Kennedy was good friends and colleagues with the famous singer Marian Anderson. They met when Anderson stayed at the Gamble family home in Charleston. At that time, African Americans like Anderson were not allowed to stay in many hotels.

Schooling and College

Anne Kennedy went to public schools in Charleston. These schools were separated by race at the time. Later, she studied music at West Virginia State College. Her teachers there were David Carroll and Theodore Phillips.

In 1937, she started at Fisk University. She studied with William Duncan Allen and graduated with honors in 1941. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. After Fisk, she won scholarships to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. There, she studied with Dr. Frank Shaw and John Elvin. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin.

She continued her studies at the Juilliard School and George Peabody College. She also trained with pianist Ray Lev in New York.

Music Career

Starting Her Career

Anne Kennedy once auditioned for the famous musician Duke Ellington in Charleston. He was so impressed that he invited her to perform in New York.

Kennedy became a performing artist and teacher. She began her concert career after teaching piano at Tuskegee University and Talladega College.

Teaching at Fisk University

In 1950, Professor John Wesley Work III invited her to teach piano at Fisk University. She planned to stay for just one semester. But that "one semester" turned into 32 years!

For 17 of those years, she was the accompanist and piano soloist for the Fisk Jubilee Singers. She worked with directors John Wesley Work and Matthew Kennedy. In 1956, she married Matthew Kennedy in the Fisk Memorial Chapel. Their wedding was a gift from Fisk President Charles S. Johnson. Their daughter, Nina Gamble Kennedy, is also a pianist, filmmaker, and conductor.

Performances and Recognition

Anne and Matthew Kennedy often performed together as duo pianists. They were well-known for their version of Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos.

Anne Kennedy received great praise for her performances. She played Norman Dello Joio's A Jubilant Song and Undine Smith Moore's Lord We Give Thanks to Thee. She performed these with the Fisk Jubilee Singers. These performances took place at New York's Carnegie Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.

Her last faculty recital at Fisk in 1970 included many famous pieces. She played the Liszt Sonata in B minor. She also performed Bach-Tausig's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Other pieces included Chopin's Barcarolle and Ravel's Valses Nobles et Sentimentales. She also played John Wesley Work III's Appalachia Suite.

She was also praised for her performance of Beethoven's Choral Fantasy. She was the piano soloist with the Nashville Symphony and the Fisk University Choir.

In 1954, artist Aaron Douglas chose Anne Gamble for a series of portraits. These portraits honored distinguished Fisk faculty members.

After Retirement

After retiring from Fisk, Kennedy was known for her own version of Albert Malotte's "The Lord's Prayer." She was also active in her community. She served on The Women's Advisory Committee of the Tennessee Performing Arts Foundation. She was a music consultant for the Fine Arts Committee of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce. She was also Vice President of the John W. Work, III Memorial Foundation.

She was a member of the Nashville Chapter of Links, Inc. She was also a Life Member of the NAACP. A music scholarship at Fisk University is named in honor of her and her husband. It is called "The Matthew and Anne Gamble Kennedy Scholarship Fund."

On September 25, 2020, INFEMNITY Productions launched an online exhibit. This exhibit honored Anne Gamble Kennedy's life for her 100th birthday.

Recordings

• "The Dream Boogie" by David N. Baker, Eye of the Storm, Fisk University 43rd Annual Arts Festival, 1972
• Concert Étude in D-flat Major "Un Sospiro," by Franz Liszt, Wilcox-Gay Corporation, 1947
• Malagueña by Ernesto Lecuona, Wilcox-Gay Corporation, 1947
• Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53, by Frédéric Chopin, Wilcox-Gay Corporation, 1947