HOLY. JOHN. MACKEY. New piece!

[shaners]

UNT Wind Symphony played this last fall... a stellar work!

[dcsnare93]

Put it this way, if he was a terrible composer no one would ever play his music, nor would he ever be published.

You may not like him, doesn't mean he is terrible.

Hitler was a terrible person, and a whole country followed him.

Hindsight is 20/20. Who knows, ten years from now opinions about his music may change.

I'm not comparing Mackey to Hitler nor saying he's a bad composer. Just saying that because people play his music, it doesn't necessarily make him a great composer either.

As for the piece, I thought it was okay. Then again, I'm not a composer so what I do know.

Edited April 2, 2010 by dcsnare93

[FHdork]

This board is all about opinions. We're all highly opinionated - which is why we're here...we cannot go too long without standing in the proverbial chair and yelling at the room about what we think. Fortunately, this board is here to give venue (and chair) to our digital excreta.

Compare the opinion 'John Mackey is a terrible composer' to what rappers had to suffer in the 80s when their music began to be recorded, listened to by young people...and worst of all horrors: blasted from cars with all the attendant sympathetic vibrations from poorly crafted door, dash, and trunk panels. I recall NPR stories seriously entertaining and debating the question: is 'rap' music? Love rap or hate it, I think you will all agree with me on the answer...

So - give our whipping boy/girl the credit they deserve: they called Mackey a 'composer' - an inherently respectful term.

[luvs me sum mello!]

No, I think it's pretty relevant to this topic.

It's bad enough that two corps are already playing "Asphalt Cocktail." I mean, I get why people like it - it's a fun piece in the same way that watching a Michael Bay movie is fun - you have to turn your brain off in order to enjoy it. I just don't get why so many people think he's such a wonderful composer - I doubt any of his stuff will even be remembered 20 or 30 years down the road. The dude's never even played an instrument.

If you knew ANYTHING about composition you'd know that there is a ton of stuff going on in his music. You may not dig it, but to say that it's intellectual dribble is far from the truth.

[luvs me sum mello!]

For all the doubters out there, check out his bio. It's not just band directors and corps that like his music, it's BIG names and institutions.

His music has been performed at the Sydney Opera House; the Brooklyn Academy of Music; Carnegie Hall; the Kennedy Center; Weill Recital Hall; Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival; Italy's Spoleto Festival; Alice Tully Hall; the Joyce Theater; Dance Theater Workshop; and throughout Italy, Chile, Japan, Colombia, Austria, Brazil, Germany, England, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

John has received numerous commissions from the Parsons Dance Company, as well as commissions from the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute, the Dallas Theater Center, the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, the New York Youth Symphony, Ailey 2, Concert Artists Guild, Peridance Ensemble, and Jeanne Ruddy Dance, among many others. Recent and upcoming commissions include works for the concert bands of the SEC Athletic Conference, the American Bandmasters Association, and the Dallas Wind Symphony.

As a frequent collaborator, John has worked with a diverse range of artists, from Doug Varone to David Parsons, from Robert Battle to the US Olympic Synchronized Swim Team. (The team won a bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics performing to Mackey's score, "####.")

John Mackey holds a Master of Music degree from The Julliard School and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with John Corigliano and Donald Erb, respectively.

Edited April 2, 2010 by luvs me sum mello!

[Donny Drum Corps]

Vanguard or Crossmen

[DrinkinOuttaCups]

If you knew ANYTHING about composition you'd know that there is a ton of stuff going on in his music. You may not dig it, but to say that it's intellectual dribble is far from the truth.

Just because there's a lot going on doesn't make it good. Yes, "Asphalt Cocktail" has a ton of stuff going on. So much so that the entire piece is one big mess. Busy doesn't always equal good.

[MikeN]

Posts that are not OT for this thread have been removed. Please keep the discussion on topic - that makes life clean and easy for our readers.

Thanks!

Mike

[ContraRich77]

Fair enuff.

[cowtown]

My self personally love Mackeys Music. it makes me smile and i love listening to it. Aurora Awakes will suit the Blue Devils. You Might even hear it this year on the field

I too heard the Blue Devils were at least considering this piece, I wonder if that is why there are so many strong reactions supporting this piece on this thread.

Generally, I’m not a fan myself but that doesn’t mean that I won’t like on the field

we'll see