4/30/2023 0 Comments John mackey composer![]() One of my personal favorites of Mackey’s would have to be Sheltering Sky. Some of his most notable songs include Aurora Awakes, Asphalt Cocktail, and Hymn to a Blue Hour. His compositions have been played around the world, from the Sydney Opera House to Carnegie Hall, and he has received numerous grants and awards for his innovative work. From then on, Mackey narrowed his focus on composing for dance and for symphonic winds in the Classical genre. He would then travel to New York City afterwards to receive his Masters in Music from Juilliard in 1997. Mackey would pursue his passion for music in an undergraduate Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1995. The Hellgate Wind Ensemble performed John Mackey’s “Night on Fire” in Carnegie Hall in 2015. Though this piece may sound dreadful now, it would later lead to an artful career. Interestingly, the “clarinet” part in this composition was intended for Mackey’s grandfather to play. He tried to follow the sound and style of the piece in his own interpretation. Mackey recounts being obsessed with this movie and describes how it motivated and inspired him. You may recall our discussion on Mozart’s Lacrimosa from last week’s post. This piece, a Lacrimosa, was inspired by the award-winning Amadeus (1984), a film about Mozart’s life. Above is a video recording of what Mackey believes to be his earliest surviving piece. ![]() On his Osti Music blog in 2015, Mackey talks about the pieces he composed and painstakingly transposed throughout his early teen years on this software as well as on another called SidPlayer. Throughout the 1980’s, Mackey spent dozens of hours working with his arbitrary music software. This basic and limited piece of software could only play three notes at a time, but it would inspire a lifetime love of music. ![]() The first of these programs was the Music Construction Set for the Apple IIe and later for the Commodore 64. Wanting to instill the joys and passion of music in his grandson, Mackey’s grandfather taught him how to read music as well as use computer programs to compose music of his own. Instead, his introduction to music came through his grandfather, who played clarinet, oboe, and flute in a local community band and owned a nearby music store. Though Mackey’s parents were musicians, Mackey never took music lessons from them or formally learned how to play an instrument. John Mackey was born Octoin New Philadelphia, Ohio. ![]()
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