Career
As a musician growing up listening to and performing vernacular American musics as well as classical music, Mackey"s compositions are influenced by rock and jazz, though in an avant-garde vein. He favors the electric guitar and frequently performs his own compositions for the instrument, which include a concerto for electric guitar and orchestra (Tuck and Roll) and two works for electric guitar and string quartet (Physical Property and Troubadour Songs). As an electric guitar soloist, he has performed with the Kronos Quartet, the Arditti Quartet, New World Symphony, Dutch Radio Symphony, and London Sinfonietta.
He also served as Composer-in-Residence at the Aspen Music Festival in 1985 among many other residencies such as Yellow barn, Imagine Festival and Bennington.
More recently, Mackey was announced Composer in Residence at Tanglewood in the summer of 2006 and was co-composer in residence with Christopher Rouse at the 2007 Aspen Music Festival. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, 1956 to American parents, Mackey was raised in northern California.
He was graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Davis, followed by an Master of Arts at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and a Doctor of Philosophy from Brandeis University. Since 1985 Mackey has served as a professor of music at Princeton University, where he teaches composition, theory, twentieth century music, improvisation, and a variety of special topics.
Mackey"s music is published by Boosey & Hawkes.
His compositions have been released on the Bridge, BMG/Radio Corporation of America Red Seal, Albany, New World, Nonesuch, BMG/Catalyst, Cryptography Research Inc, Minister/Max, and Newport Classic labels. Steven Mackey on Steven Mackey. Documentary
NewMusicBox: "Steven Mackey: Outsider On the Inside" (July 1, 2005).
Steven Mackey in conversation with Frank J. Oteri on June 13, 2005.
(video included)
Steven Mackey interview
Art of the States: Steven Mackey two works by the composer.