John Mackey (composer)


John Mackey is an American composer of contemporary classical music, with an emphasis on music for wind band, as well as orchestra. For several years, he focused on music for modern dance and ballet.
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Biography

John Mackey was born in New Philadelphia, Ohio and grew up in Westerville, Ohio, where he attended Westerville South High School. Though musicians themselves, Mackey's parents did not provide him with music lessons, and he never formally studied an instrument. His grandfather, however, taught him to read music and introduced him to digital music notation. Through experimentation with programs intended for entertainment rather than education, Mackey began to compose his own music. He wrote his first piece, Lacrimosa, at age 11, after being inspired by the film Amadeus. As a young composer, he took some lessons from one of his mother's friends, who had a Ph.D. in music.
Mackey received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1995 from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Donald Erb. He then studied with John Corigliano at Juilliard, receiving a Master of Music degree in 1997. Mackey has stated his support for these institutions' policies of not requiring composers to perform an instrumental audition, as many composers, like himself, do not play an instrument. On this subject, Mackey has said, "There are obviously ways to compose music without playing a formal instrument."
Mackey lived in New York City from 1995 to 2005, where he collaborated frequently with choreographers such as David Parsons, Robert Battle, and Igal Perry. Mackey moved to Los Angeles in 2005. In April 2008, he announced on his blog his intention to move to Austin, Texas, explaining that much of his income is a result of commissions and other appearances in the Texas area. Then in March 2011, Mackey posted a blog to announce his move to Cambridge, Massachusetts in order for his wife to attend graduate school. In 2019, he moved with his wife to San Francisco, California, where he currently resides.

Concert band

Mackey's first professional work was writing for dance companies. However, after attending the College Band Directors National Association conference in Minneapolis, he received a commission to reorchestrate his 2003 orchestral work "Redline Tango" for concert band. After reluctantly accepting, he completed the concert band version in 2005, and it became a great success. Today, Mackey is world-renowned as a concert band composer, and most of his works from the past decade have been for concert band. He regularly receives commissions from high school bands, college bands, and professional wind ensembles in the United States and Asia.

List of works

Orchestra

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra Redline Tango Antiphonal Dances Under the Rug Harvest: Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra without Strings Aurora Awakes
  • ''Songs from the End of the World''

Wind ensemble/concert band

Redline Tango ; won the ABA Ostwald AwardSasparilla Turbine Strange Humors Turning Kingfishers Catch Fire Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Wind Ensemble ; a piano reduction is available as of 2013.Clocking Undertow Asphalt Cocktail Aurora Awakes ; won the ABA Ostwald Award and the NBA William D. Revelli Memorial Composition ContestHarvest: Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra without Strings Xerxes Hymn to a Blue Hour Foundry Drum Music: Concerto for Percussion and Wind Ensemble Sheltering Sky High Wire The Frozen Cathedral The Soul Has Many Motions Night on Fire, movement II of "The Soul Has Many Motions" Unquiet Spirits, movement III of "The Soul Has Many Motions" Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony for Band The Ringmaster's March Lightning Field Fanfare for Full Fathom Five, for brass and percussion ensemble Liminal This Cruel Moon Antique Violences: Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble The Night Garden Snarl The Rumor of a Secret King Until the Scars Places we can no longer go, for vocal soprano and wind ensemble; text by A. E. JaquesSacred Spaces
  • Some treasures are heavy with human tears
  • Let Me Be Frank With You
  • A deep reverberation fills with stars
  • Divine Mischief: Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble
  • Fission
  • Haunted Objects
  • ''Teeth of the Mechanism''

Adaptable Ensemble

This Cruel Moon – adaptable, minimum 5-parts Strange Humors – adaptable, minimum 4-parts plus djembeLet Me Be Frank With You, minimum 4-parts plus drum setSheltering Sky – adaptable, minimum 4-parts Night on Fire – adaptable, minimum 4-parts plus one percussionist

Choir

Alleluia, for 5-part choir
  • The Rumor of a Secret King, for SATB choir; text by A. E. Jaques
  • Cradle Song, for SATB choir; text by A. E. Jaques

Chamber ensemble

Elegy and Fantasie, for violin and pianoTango, for viola and two pianosMom Song, for flute, guitar, cello, and harpsichordPiano Trio in Two Movements, for violin, cello, and pianoThe Other Side, for double bass or cello and pianoMood Indigo, for piano and drum setStrange Humors, for string quartet and djembeDamn, for amplified clarinet and four percussionistsVoices and Echoes, for string quartetRush Hour, for clarinet, electric string quartet, and drum setBreakdown Tango, for clarinet, violin, cello, and pianoJuba, for electric string quartet and percussionWrong-Mountain Stomp, for violin, viola, and celloMass, for percussion ensembleStrange Humors, for saxophone quartet and djembeSultana, for saxophone and pianoStrange Humors, for clarinet quartet and djembeUnquiet Spirits, for saxophone quartetHymn to a Blue Hour, for trombone ensembleSongs from the End of the World, for vocal soprano and mixed chamber ensemble; text by A. E. Jaques; a piano reduction is available as of 2017.Hymn to a Blue Hour, for minimum 16-part ensemble

Musical theater