Renown American composer Steven Mackey is really a just a ski bum at heart. Before being awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, numerous accolades from the Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts and teaching position at Princeton, Mackey was sponsored freestyle skier.
His specialty was moguls but also competed in aerial and ballet events. That career came to an unfortunate end when Mackey tore his achilles and decided to focus on his musical pursuits but the rhythm of bump skiing is indelibly embedded in his soul and shines through in his compositions “It’s exuberant and muscular, slightly irregular.”
Here is a piece composed by Steven Mackey:
“I strive to keep the process of composition exciting as a daily activity.”
Steven Mackey was born in 1956, to American parents stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. He is regarded as one of the leading composers of his generation and has composed for orchestra, chamber ensembles, dance and opera. His first musical passion was playing the electric guitar in rock bands based in northern California. He blazed a trail in the 1980’s and 90’s by including the electric guitar and vernacular music influence in his concert music and he regularly performs his own work, including two electric guitar concertos and numerous solo and chamber works. He is also active as an improvising musician and performs with his band Big Farm.
