Bev Kennedy

Bev Kennedy is generally regarded as one of Australia’s leading musical directors & accompanists, having worked on over 50 professional music theatre productions.

Shows she has worked on include Billy Elliot, Mamma Mia!, The Producers, We Will Rock You, The Lion King, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Chicago, and the concert version of Sunset Boulevard with Judi Conelli.

Bev was Associate Musical Director for Simon Gallaher’s Pirates of Penzance, which is the highest selling recording of a musical in Australian history and also won an Aria award for best soundtrack.

Most recently Bev has been working on the shows Muriel’s Wedding, Heathers, Jersey Boys, Wicked and was Musical Director on Ave Q. She was also nominated for a Green room award for her work as Musical Director on the Australian Premiere of Gutenberg the Musical and a Sydney theatre critic’s award for her work as Musical Director on the Australian premiere of Heathers.

Bev worked for Cove musical theatre agents booking musicians & entertainers at the Regent Hotel during the Olympics when it was the official SOCOG Hotel and host to several international dignitaries and royal families. Bev is now the Cabaret Curator at Sydney’s Premiere Cabaret venue Claire’s Kitchen.

Bev has worked as Musical Director for 2 years on Short Sweet & Song and for several Mardi Gras ‘Hats Off’ Concerts, including the 2008 “Hats Off Meets the Stars Come out” 30^th year Anniversary concert. She has also worked as Musical Director for the last 4 years on “Light the Night” charity concert raising money for leukemia research.

In 2008, Bev was the official pianist at the World Youth Day Papal welcome which was televised worldwide and the year before played at Kerry Packer’s memorial which was also broadcast live around the World. In 2011 Bev was Musical Director for the Luminale Festival at the Sydney Opera House under the direction of Paul Capsis.

In the past Bev has accompanied International artists such as Joan Rivers, Grammy award winners Thelma Houston and Liz Callaway and continues to play for local artists such as Trevor Ashley, Marina Prior & Anthony Warlow. She is currently a consultant and adjudicator for the City of Sydney Eisteddfod and a consultant for the Talent Development Project.

Bev also works as a regular performer on the Bravo Cruise of the performing arts, and in 2017 had the great honour of performing with Jose Carreras – one of the most successful recording artists of all time.

In 2018 Bev had the honour of working with Tina Arena on the sellout show Evita at the Opera House and then worked on the hit show Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Capitol theatre.  In April 2019 Bev toured Australia with Grammy award winning English dance duo Basement Jaxx. She is currently playing part time on the hit show Tina, and is about to work as Associate Musical Director on the new Australian musical, The Dismissal.

AT THE FESTIVAL