Kelly focused on his passion for the saxophone as he began formal music studies at Florida State University's College of Music. He desired to resurrect the original tone and range of the saxophone as intended by its inventor, Adolphe Sax. His teachers included Sigurd Raschèr. After Florida State, He had a 30-year international career as a classical saxophonist.
Career
In 1981 Kelly took Sigurd Raschèr's place as alto saxophonist in the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet. He performed regularly with the quartet for ten years.[1]
In 1994 Kelly founded the Alloys Ensemble (saxophone, cello, piano & percussion).
In 2005 he co-founded (with violinist Elissa Cassini) the Arcos Orchestra, an ensemble with a focus on unfamiliar orchestral repertoire.
He lectured and served as a guest professor in such cities as London, The Hague, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Helsinki, Rochester, Stuttgart, Lyon, and Oslo. He published articles on aesthetics, contemporary music and the saxophone, including a pamphlet titled "The Acoustics of the Saxophone from a Phenomenological Perspective". He also gave a series of lectures titled 'The Art of Listening'.
Kelly met his wife Kristin, a physician, at a concert in Germany. The couple married in 2003. They had 4 children, 3 sons and a daughter. He was a licensed airplanepilot and flight instructor.
Selected discography
John-Edward Kelly & Bob Versteegh (3 volumes) (1987, 1991, 1994) - Col legno Musikproduktionen AU031805, AU031817, and WWE1CD31885
Works for Saxophone & Orchestra by Ibert, Larsson, & Martin, BMG (with the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra) (1991) - Arte Nova 74321277
