KORI BARKLEY
Staff Writer
For the third event of the Ethos Newsound Festival, Fredonia’s composition students were elated to spend this past week with renowned classical composer, John Mackey.
Holding degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Juilliard, Mackey composes largely for wind ensembles and orchestra, though his chamber works and compositions for modern dance and ballet are
distinguished, as well. Newsday has described him as “simply sensational,” having a “high-energy style and a sharp theatrical sense, as well as a funny streak.”
During his residency, Mackey worked with Fredonia’s Wind Symphony, composition students and several chamber groups performing his pieces. I even got the chance to meet with him. We briefly bonded over the excessive cold that has plagued Fredonia before he told me about his inspirations and experience traveling around the world to commission music, as well as his favorite pastimes when he isn’t composing.
Kori Barkley: What inspired you to compose initially?
John Mackey: There’s not one thing really … My parents were musicians, so I grew up around music but never actually learned to play an instrument. When I was about 10, my grandfather showed me how to write music using computer music software. So I started to take other people’s music, like Bach or Beethoven, and program that into Finale, but I would also write my own music. The computer was kind of my instrument; I ‘played’ the computer. It was like a video game that I couldn’t lose, so I thought it was really fun! I went to college for it, but I didn’t know until I was a senior in high school that [composing] is what I wanted to do for a living.
KB: Whose work inspires you most today?
JM: There are a couple living composers that I really admire: John Adams is a big influence, Esa-Pekka Salonen, who was the director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is a big inspiration to the things I do now … [Of] deceased composers I would have to say Samuel Barber. He was a big influence, especially when I was younger. And Stravinsky, of course.
KB: Since you don’t physically play an instrument, do you find it hard to compose technically for instruments?
JM: No, because both conservatories I went to don’t have music education degrees … everyone there was great at their instruments, and they were not teaching anyone to teach instruments. As a result of that, there was no class to learn how to play a clarinet, for example. So while I know what instruments sound like, I don’t know what goes into them. That means I don’t have preferences for certain instruments, and I don’t bring any bias about things that are too difficult; I’m generally just writing what I think sounds good and hope that it’s playable.
KB: Do you have a compositional process or do you write whatever comes to mind?
JM: It depends on the piece, for sure. If it’s a really long piece, I definitely plan it out really clearly without ever writing any notes initially. One of my teachers in [graduate] school taught us to think of writing music the way an architect would build a building. If you were an architect, you wouldn’t start by picking out curtains. You would start by figuring out what the purpose of the building was, how big it needed to be to fit that purpose and what materials you use to build it. Music should be the same way. Figure out what the piece is about, how big of a piece it needs to be to be able to accomplish that thing you want to accomplish and what instruments you need … If I write a short piece, often I’ll just start it and figure I can just see where it goes.
KB: What do you consider your biggest accomplishment compositionally?
JM: I think the piece I’m most proud of is a 30-minute symphony I did for [a] band that premiered about a year ago called “Wine Dark Sea.” It was creatively exhausting to write a piece that size, because it took nine months to write … but I was really happy to have done it, and it turned out okay, so I think that made it worth it.
KB: So you travel often. What has been your most memorable trip, and why?
JM: Oh, well that one’s easy! “Wine Dark Sea” was actually commissioned by the University of Texas for the 100th Anniversary of their School of Music. Part of what they were doing for that anniversary was an around-the-world tour, so they took me and the piece on the tour … We did 13 performances, largely in Asia, but also in Hawaii, Taiwan and Hong Kong, a couple cities in Japan and a bunch in China and London. I’d never been to any of those places except Japan, so that was really fun getting to tour the cities and to perform.
KB: You’re also known for your interest in photography. Do any of your photos influence your compositions, or vice versa?
JM: That would be fun! That would be really cool, except the problem is all the pictures I take are of food, my travels or my cat! So those wouldn’t necessarily make the best pieces, like, a picture of sushi would make a pretty picture, but, you know. I think I like to keep them separate because the photography is a fun hobby, which, for me, is an escape from the music.
KB: Your blog [http://www.ostimusic.com/blog/] is a combination of a little bit of everything. Do you do this so followers connect with you on a more personal level?
JM: I definitely do consciously have a mix of personal and work related stuff on all my [social media]. If everything was just about what concert I have, that would be really lame and everyone would unfollow me, but if most of it has to do with anything else, and I can sprinkle in stuff about my concerts, people are at least somewhat interested.
KB: Have you enjoyed your time at Fredonia?
JM: It’s been wonderful! [The students] have kept me very, very busy. I’ve worked with six different ensembles, four chamber groups, two different bands and gave a bunch of lessons. It’s been really great getting to meet so many people and hear really great performances. Everyone’s been super nice and I had great wings, so I can’t complain.