“There are a lot of onions on this young man’s cheesesteak...“ —DRUM! Magazine

Spanish Silver Tambourine

Heralded by The Philadelphia Inquirer for his, “intense and sometimes far-out live performances”, American Drum Set and Percussion artist Sean J. Kennedy is the drummer for The Gardyn Jazz Orchestra, The Doc Severinsen Tribute Band, featuring Jay Webb and has been principal percussionist with the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale since 2004. He is a multi-faceted musician who is equally accomplished on the stage, in the recording studio, and in the classroom.

Kennedy has performed on drumset and percussion with The Philly POPS! Orchestra, The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, The Jacksonville Symphony, The Allentown Band, The Allentown Symphony Orchestra, The Rolling Buzzards Brigade and The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra. North American tours have included performances with Italian operatic sensations Il Volo, Roger Daltrey and The Who, The Strauss Symphony of America, Evanescence, Lindsey Stirling, Rocktopia Live, and Jerry Garcia’s Symphonic Celebrations with Warren Haynes.

In 2018 Kennedy was invited to present a TEDx Talk about the history of the drum set, titled: Happy Accidents: Drumming Up Serendipity, and June of 2021, was appointed to the Percussive Arts Society Drum Set Committee.

Kennedy earned a master’s degree in Percussion Performance and a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from West Chester University, and is a proud Artist Endorser for Grover Pro Percussion, Canopus Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Drumsticks, Casio Keyboards, One Beat Better, The Drum Wallet and Evans Drumheads. He is also a member of the American Federation of Musicians, is a registered composer, songwriter, and publisher with Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), and is a voting member of the Recording Academy (NARAS).

Kennedy is currently an adjunct professor of drum set and percussion at Arcadia University and holds faculty positions as an instructor of instrumental music in the Wissahickon and Upper Dublin school districts, located in suburban Philadelphia.