S. Jay Kennedy

Berklee Executive Officer; Vice President for Academic Affairs/Vice Provost

Jay Kennedy is vice president for academic affairs/vice provost. He joined Berklee in 1994 as chair of the Contemporary Writing and Production Department.

Kennedy has composed and produced music for hundreds of television commercials (Coca Cola, McDonald's, Pontiac, Levi's, Nike, etc.). His music has been heard in feature films (Wayne’s World, Lethal Weapon 2), television series (One Tree Hill, Felicity), and he was a 2002 Grammy Award finalist for arrangements on Virtuosi by Gary Burton and Makoto Ozone. He continues to be active as a composer and arranger with commissions and published compositions for concert band, percussion ensemble, and marching band. 

He has been a frequent adjudicator for marching band, drum corps, and indoor percussion competitions for many years. He composed the theme for the Drum Corps International (DCI) broadcasts and was elected to the DCI Hall of Fame in 2007 for longtime contributions as an adjudicator, educator, judge administrator, and arranger. 

Kennedy received the doctor of philosophy degree from Boston College and master of music and bachelor of music education degrees from Northwestern University.