Born in Huddersfield, England, Max Kenworthy has performed recitals all over the world and has undertaken recordings, broadcasts and tours in organ, piano, conducting and singing.
Max has recently returned to the UK after six years in New Zealand where he was initially Assistant Director of Music at the Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul and later worked as a freelance musician. In that time he gave recitals throughout New Zealand and Australia and has also performed with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Wellington Sinfonia, The Tudor Consort, Musica Sacra, the Orpheus Choir, the Royal New Zealand Air Force Band and New Zealand’s premiere contemporary music ensemble, Stroma. He has frequently conducted the cathedral’s four choirs, as well as Wellington-based chamber choir Cantoris.
Max also gives regular duet recitals with organist Nicholas Grigsby, with whom he has recorded a CD of organ duets from Dunedin Town Hall entitled four hands / four feet. They have toured extensively and this year took them to New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, France, Germany and the UK, with a further tour of the USA in 2009.
In 2006 Max recorded his first solo organ disc, organum maximum, on the organ of Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul, and is also featured on the CD Favourite Hymns; Cathedral Classics and the cathedral choir’s latest CD The Service of Shadows.
As a pianist, Max performed frequently and widely with his New Zealand-based jazz group the jazz-tempered trio. They released their debut CD Bach in Black in December 2007 — jazz interpretations of the music of J.S. Bach.
Max began his musical career as a chorister at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. He started learning the organ at Bradford Grammar School before a year as Organ Scholar at Rochester Cathedral where he studied with Roger Sayer. Max then won an organ scholarship to Brasenose College, Oxford, studying with David Goode.
After leaving Oxford Max was appointed Assistant Organist at Hampstead Parish Church and subsequently Organist at St. Mary’s Church, Barnes, London. He continued to study organ with Jeremy Filsell while also teaching piano and organ at The London Oratory School and Latymer Upper School. He has also tutored at St. Mark’s Church School and Queen Margaret College in Wellington, and currently teaches piano at Ardingly College.
Max has also worked as a concert reviewer and contributor for Radio New Zealand Concert, most recently writing and presenting a programme on the organ works of Messiaen. He has also reviewed CDs for musicweb-international.com.
Max currently studies the organ with Lincoln Cathedral’s Organist Laureate, Colin Walsh.
