Todd Kemp

Biography

Todd Kemp is an Instructor in percussion and music theory at Belmont University, where he received his BM in composition in 1998 and his MM in percussion performance in 2006. His academic interests include aural skills acquisition and application, classical percussion, and music composition. Mr. Kemp was a co-presenter at the 2009 Musical Ear Conference, and has performed with So Percussion Group, Alias Chamber Ensemble, and Pulse New Music Ensemble. Mr. Kemp premiered Diana Burrell’s Phos for organ, cello, and percussion, commissioned by the American Guild of Organists. He can be heard on Alias Chamber Ensemble’s recording Hilos (a collection of the music of composer Gabriela Lena Frank), and on Leslie and Christopher Norton’s This Road We’re On. Kemp has performed various percussive duties in a variety of settings on recordings for the Naxos, Theory 8, XO, and Grand Palace record labels, and has recorded fourteen collections of his own music under various monikers. Mr. Kemp has worked closely with the Prost percussion quartet and the Peculiar Parts Collaborative puppeteers on a series of pieces for puppet theater and percussion that explore different aspects of the relationships between score, musicians, and live action. A long-time Nashvillian, Kemp has also been active in the local rock music scene since the mid-nineties. He lives in Nashville with his wife Leslye and their son Elliott.