In 1951, he began undergraduate studies at St John's College, Cambridge under Patrick Hadley and Robin Orr.
He was elected a fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, in 1971, remaining there until his appointment to the West Riding Chair of Music at the University of Leeds in 1977.
[1] Kemp's time at Schott's brought him into contact with distinguished composers, including Michael Tippett, Alexander Goehr, Peter Maxwell Davies and Harrison Birtwistle.
[1] In his retirement, he lived in North London and then Sussex, but health problems slowed down his scholarly output.
He died on 16 September 2011, leaving a widow, the conductor Sian Edwards, and their son, and five children from his first marriage to Gill Turner.