Artists of the Knight: Sean Hennessy

Sean's episode premieres Wed., March 23!

Composer and Trumpeter Sean Schafer Hennessy is one of America's most gifted composer/ instrumentalists. Since winning major competitions since his twelfth year, he remains a brilliant protege of the renowned Wynton Marsalis. Beginning his trumpet studies at age ten, Sean made his concerto debut three years later with the Colorado Symphony. Sean has performed a solo recital at Carnegie Hall, appeared as a guest soloist at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and moved audiences with his appearance on the Public Radio International's "From the Top".

The National Alliance for Excellence Award, conferred on Sean, caps a string of honors, including the International Trumpet Guild Young Artist Award, and winner of the National Trumpet Competition. Sean is also one of the gifted young composers who contributed to Kennedy Center's Imagination Celebration, providing his Theme for the Mars Millennium Project, seeing space as the "new frontier" of exploration in the new millennium. Sean's artistic talents have continued to expand into the jazz arena. He has gone on to perform and compose jazz works for orchestra, big bands, jazz combos and solo performances in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas. Recruited by Maestro Marin Alsop to perform the lead in "Journey Into Jazz" written by Gunther Schueller, Sean dazzled the audience with emotion. Sean graduated from Northwestern University School of Music and completed graduate studies at the USC program Film Scoring for Motion Pictures & TV.

Sean is currently composing in Hollywood. As a trumpet soloist of deep essence, much of his current music for film contains beautiful heartfelt melodies, light jesting humor in comedy, riveting/anticipating suspense in his dramas, as well as both spirited and touching jazz in his jazz scores. His orchestrations are rich, powerful, and dramatic. Continuing to conduct and perform in his own works, Sean touches his audience both through his film music and his performances, with unique musicality and soul.

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