Violinist Kendall Grady hails from the sea-side town of Swansboro on North Carolina’s Crystal Coast with strong Lithuanian roots. Kendall began her professional studies in violin performance at age 15 upon receiving full-tuition scholarships to study at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts high school division, and continued to complete her undergraduate degree with Joseph Genualdi, Janet Orenstein, and Ida Bieler. After moving to Miami and serving as a teaching assistant, guest lecturer, and orchestral manager that placed her on youth audition and competition committees, Kendall received her graduate degree as a fellow in the Mancini Institute at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music with Mr. Scott Flavin, guided by Charles Castleman. Upon graduation Kendall was awarded a staff position at the Frost School of Music Preparatory Program teaching private lessons and coaching chamber ensembles.

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Passionate about music-for-social-change, Kendall joined the Global Leaders Program 2020 Cohort and received a Graduate Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship, Cultural Agency, Community Development, and Teaching Artistry through schools at Georgetown, Harvard, McGill, Bard, Duke, and New York University. Through  fieldwork Kendall developed a social-service project with the municipal government of UNESCO’s "Creative City” Frutillar in Chile. Kendall has a relationship with the Toki School of Music on Rapa Nui (Easter Island,) for whom she worked to restructure their financial and program models, providing them a proposal which they currently implement, as well as developed a non-culturally-appropriative crowdfunding campaign that awarded the school over £17,000. Her article “The Toki School of Music: A Living Legacy” was published in the World Ensemble 2020 Magazine, and she was interviewed to be featured  by the University of Miami Alumni Association in “Making an Impact and Finding Purpose on the Most Isolated Inhabited Place on Earth” for the 2021 Spring Newsletter as well as Frost School of Music’s annual Score Magazine.

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Kendall enjoys combining art mediums centered around nature or literature, which has resulted in the creation of the Violin, Voice, and Piano trio La Passeggiata. Kendall has commissioned works involving acoustic installation with string quartet that brings awareness to mental health challenges, and has experience in producing performances, such as the ballet opening for the 2019 International Women’s Forum World Conference. An enthusiastic traveler who is aiming to globally demonstrate the applicability of classical violin in modern life, Kendall is grateful to have been awarded many grants and opportunities to perform internationally, including as a Artist-in-Residence, as a soloist for Princess della Torre e Tasso, and most recently at the Germany Euro Music Festival teaching violin and ABRSM theory to students from the Beijing Montessori School. Kendall is grateful for performance experiences as a principal in the NC Piedmont Opera, touring for PBS, as well as for conductors from the Hollywood Bowl, Broadway, and the NYC Ballet. Kendall’s playing can be heard on Latin GRAMMY recordings, on Pharrell William’s “Hydration” soundtrack, and as soloist for the Sundance Film “Colt.” 

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In an attempt to define her musical approach, Kendall copyrighted Holistic Music Pedagogy™, which has been presented to the the Pluri-National Conservatory of Music in Bolivia, the “Harmonia'' Orquestrando (Harmony Youth Orchestra) in Mexico, Guatemala’s National Organization of El Sistema Programs, the Swedish Gothenburg Symphony community.

 

For updates on Kendall’s artistic journey, please visit kendallviolin.com.