Draft:Neil McKay

Roderick Neil McKay (June 16, 1924 – December 8, 2016) was a Canadian (Naturalized American citizen 1963) composer, musician, arranger, big band leader, and university professor. He took his first lessons on the violin at age 8, began playing bass with a 'Hawaiian Band' at 13, and subsequently took up the Saxophone and formed his first dance band in high school.

Neil McKay
Birth name	Roderick Neil McKay
Born	June 24, 1924 Ashcroft, British Columbia, Canada
Died	December 8, 2016 Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii
Occupation(s)	Composer, Arranger, Band Leader, Professor of Music
Instrument(s)	Oboe, Clarinet, Saxophone
Labels	Hula Records; Mercury; Mountain Apple; Equilibrium; Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; Camerata Records
Website	NeilMcKayMusic.com

Musical Life

Education

McKay studied music with John Jacob Weinzweig at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and The Glenn Gould School in Toronto. At the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario he received his Bachelor of Arts and then completed his degree work at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., studying with Bernard Rogers, Howard Hanson, and Alan Hovhaness - receiving his Master of Music for his "Festival Concertino for Orchestra" and his Ph.D. in 1956 for his "Symphony No. 1"

From 1944 to 1946 McKay played with the Canadian Navy Band, stationed at the Signal School in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, and on the Aircraft carrier HMCS Warrior, with deployment to Ireland in 1945.

Big Band era

All-Star Orchestra - London Arena

Following his Navy service, McKay was an arranger and conductor for the Canadian broadcaster CFPL. From late 1946 through 1954 McKay and CFPL produced (CBC) Canadian Broadcasting Corporation programming through the coast-to-coast Trans-Canada Network. These shows included a 5-year run of "The Don Harding Show with Neil McKay and his Orchestra", Neil McKay and the CFPL All Stars performing the weekly "Invitation from Dominion", a thirteen-week run of "Silverwood Serenade" and the weekly songwriting contest, "Search for Songs." McKay subsequently produced and published a number of recordings with his small group, The Neil McKay Octet. In 1953 McKay passed the leader role of the "All-Stars" to trumpeter George Tingey when he left to complete his Doctorate at the Eastman School of Music.
see > Big Bands of London, Ontario, and see > Neil McKay @ londonbigband.ca

Academic Career

Neil McKay's academic teaching career began at the University of Wisconsin at Superior where he taught music theory and woodwinds, while still performing, on oboe, as a member of the Duluth Symphony Orchestra. In 1963 McKay became a naturalized US citizen. In 1965, McKay and his family moved to Honolulu, Hawai'i where he taught music theory, orchestration, and composition at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. In 1987 he retired as Emeritus Professor of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. McKay continued to compose music influenced by jazz and by the sounds and concepts of music of the Pacific Basin. His music has been performed in Europe, Asia, and South American as well as Canada and United States.

McKay was a member of ASCAP, the Society of Composers, The American Music Center, the American Composers Forum and a Fellow of the MacDowell Colony, in 1961, 1963, and 1978. See [1] MacDowell Colony Neil McKay 'Artists' page.

As a composer, he received a number of awards, including the 1st prize at the "Ottawa Symphony competition for Canadian composers" and scholarships such as the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. McKay has also received prizes and commissions, including ASCAP awards for serious music for the past thirty-two consecutive years.

Asian Pacific Influence

The cultural milieu in Hawai'i stimulated McKay's interest in the sounds and musical concepts as well as instruments of Asia and Polynesia. This resulted in works for a variety of media: World(s) for solo koto; Evocations for concert band; Parables of Kyai Gandrung for Javanese gamelan and orchestra; Soundprints for koto and clarinet; and Kubla Khan for soprano and chamber ensemble."

WORLD(S) for solo KOTO (1970): performed in the United States, the Philippines, Japan, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Austria. Performed by Keiko Nosaka in Carnegie Hall, New York as part of a world tour 6/24/81, and recorded by Keiko Nosaka for Camerata Records (Tokyo) CMT-1048

EVOCATIONS for Concert Band (1968) (Recorded by Shawnee Press)

PARABLES OF KYAI GANDRUNG for Javanese gamelan and orchestra (1976) written with Hardja Susilo, premiered by the Honolulu Symphony

KUBLA KHAN for soprano and chamber ensemble (1977)

SOUNDPRINTS for Clarinet and Koto (1982): Winner, first prize, American Chamber Music Composition Competition (1983)

GAMELAN GONG (1971) : "...the purpose of the composition is not to recreate the authentic sound of a Balinese gamelan ensemble, but rather to represent its overall effect using the elements of Western instrumental music," Hawaii Symphonic Band Presents Summer Spectacular II In honor of Dr. Neil McKay Featuring his Gamelan Gong August 5, 2017

Major Awards, Performances & Commissions

1954 - Invitation by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation to write a work for broadcast, resulting in "Ballet for Spring".

1955 - "FESTIVAL CONCERTINO" won First Prize - Ottawa Symphony competition for Canadian composers.

1956 - "LARGHETTO" won the Edward Benjamin Prize for Quiet Music. Recorded on Mercury Records.

1960 - "SYMPHONY No.1" – Selected for performance by the Dallas Symphony, Donald Johanos, conductor by the Dallas Library Composers Conference, Darius Milhaud, moderator.

1960 - "FANTASY ON A QUIET THEME" - Performed as one of several pieces representing Canada at the Inter-American Music Festival, Washington, DC

1961 - "FANTASY ON A QUIET THEME" – Selected to be performed at the 2nd Annual Symposium of Contemporary American Music, University of Kansas

1962 - "STRING QUARTET No. 1" - runner-up in the Sosland String Quartet Competition - performed by the Fine Arts Quartet of Chicago.

1965 - "DANCE OVERTURE" commissioned by the Duluth Symphony for the dedication of the Duluth Arena Auditorium complex.

1970 - "WORLD(S)" performed by Keiko Nosaka in Carnegie Hall, NY 6/24/81. Recorded by Keiko Nosaka for Camerata Records.

1971 - "GAMELAN GONG" commissioned by the Curriculum Research Center, University of Hawaii

1973 - "GAMELAN GONG" selected by artistic jury for performance at the 1973 Society of Composers National Convention at the University of Kansas, Lawrence.

1974 - "EVOCATIONS" performed in Carnegie Hall, NY 5/24/1974 by The New York City All-City High School Band.

1976 - "PARABLES OF KYAI GANDRUNG" for Javanese gamelan and orchestra (Hardja Susilo co-composer) commissioned for the bicentennial year and premiered at Blaisdell Concert Hall by the Honolulu Symphony orchestra, Robert LaMarchina, conductor.

1979 - "KUBLA KHAN" selected by artistic jury for performance at the 1979 Society of Composers National Convention at the University of California, San Diego, California.

1961, 1963, 1979 - Awarded resident fellowship at The MacDowell Colony (1961, 1963, 1979)

1982 - "KALEIDOSCOPE" selected by artistic jury for performance at the 1982 Society of Composers National Convention at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

1983 - "SOUNDPRINTS" (Clarinet and Koto) won First Prize - American Chamber Music Composition Competition.

1984 - "EVOCATIONS" commissioned by Central Pacific Bank, Honolulu in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Hawai'i.

1986 - "RITUAL" selected for performance by the artistic jury at the University of Toronto.

1992 - "SUITE OF MINIATURES for CLARINET AND PERCUSSION" selected for performance by the artistic jury at the University of Alabama, Tuscalusa.

1997 - Individual Artist Fellowship Award from the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

1997 - Awarded Composer-in-Residence at the Charles Ives Center, Piccolo Spoleto Festival Charleston S.C.

2001 - "SYMPHONY No.2" (A Shakespeare Triptych) won the Competition for American Composers sponsored by the Loudoun (VA) Symphony Orchestra.

2002 - "SUCH SWEET SORROW" selected for performance by the artistic jury at the University of Ohio, Akron.

2005 - "BOP-A-DEEDLE!" commissioned by Louis Vuitton on its 150th anniversary. For Afro-Caribbean percussion and orchestra.

2005 - "SYMPHONY FOR WINDS" – selected for performance by the artistic jury at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro

2009 - "ODE TO AQUARIUS" commissioned by Keiko Tadashi in celebration of the restoration of "Aquarius", a mosaic created by artist Tadashi Sato in 1970, displayed in the rotunda of the Hawaiʻi State Capitol building in Honolulu.

2010 - "VOICE OF THE PHOENIX" received a Juried Award at the Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival.

2017 - "GAMELAN GONG" performed by the Hawaii Symphonic Band Ensemble, Grant Okamura, conductor. "Summer Spectacular II in honor of Dr. Neil McKay." Video of the performance August 5, 2017 -> @youtube [2]"Gamelan Gong"

CATALOG

Early works

Eastman School

FANTASY ON A QUIET THEME (1956) for Chamber Orchestra

       Premiered by the Eastman Philharmonic Orchestra, Howard Hanson, conductor,
       at the Inter-American Music Festival, Washington, D.C. 4/27/61. Recorded by the Atlantic Symphony (CBC Symphony SM 241), Klaro Mizertt, conductor.
          

SYMPHONY NO.1 (1956)

      Three movements - The second movement, Larghetto, won the Edward Benjamin prize (1956).

Later works

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

BOP-A-DEEDLE! (2005)

       [3322 4331 Timp Perc (4) Solo Perc, Str]; 12 min.
       For Afro-Caribbean percussion and orchestra. Commissioned by Louis Vuitton
       on its 150th anniversary. Premiered on April 4, 2004 by Russell (Baba Sango) 
       Robertson and the Hawaii Youth Symphony Orchestra, Henry Miyamura, conductor.

DANCE OVERTURE (1965)

       [3222 4331 Timp Perc (4) Hp Pf Str]; 10 min., Music Sales/G. Schirmer.
       Commissioned by the Duluth Symphony and premiered by the orchestra, Herman
       Hertz, conductor, at the opening of a new Arena-Auditorium complex in Duluth, Minn.

E KUI LIMA ("Join Hands") (2002)

       [3332 4331 Timp Perc (3) Hp Pno Str]; 8 min.
       A concertino for horn, two violins and orchestra.
       Commissioned and premiered by the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony,
       Henry Miyamura, conductor, young soloists from Japan, Alaska and Hawaiʻi.

EVOCATIONS (1984)

       [3332 4331 Timp Perc (3) Hp Pno Str]; 10 min.
       Transcription of "Evocations" for band. Commissioned by Central Pacific Bank,
       Honolulu in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Hawai'i.
       Performed in Blaisdell Concert Hall, Honolulu, by the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony
       Henry Miyamura, conductor, on 3/7/85, 12/9/85 and on 4/22/01.

PARABLES OF KYAI GANDRUNG for Javanese gamelan and orchestra (1976)

       Neil McKay and Hardja Susilo, co-composers; 25 min.
       [3323 4331 Timp Perc (4) Javanese gamelan Str]
       Commissioned for the bicentennial year and premiered at Blaisdell Concert Hall
       by the Honolulu Symphony orchestra, Robert LaMarchina, conductor,
       and the gamelan ensemble of the University of Hawaiʻi, Hardja Susilo, director.

SYMPHONY NO.2 (A SHAKESPEARE TRIPTYCH (2000)

       [3333 4331 Timp Perc (4) Hp Pf Str] 19 min. Three movements:
       1."and thereby hangs a tale" 2."such sweet sorrow" 3."pribbles and prabbles"
       Premiered by the University of Hawaiʻi Symphony, Henry Miyamura, conductor,
       in Blaisdell Concert Hall, 12/3/01.
       Winner of the 2002 Competition for American Composers sponsored by
       the Loudoun Symphony, (VA) Mark McCoy, conductor.

VOICE OF THE PHOENIX Concerto for Koto and Orchestra (1984) based on

       Yatsuhashi’s "Midare"  {3222 2110 Timp Perc (2) Koto Str];16 min.
       Commissioned by Ricardo Trimillos and first performed by him with the Reading,
       PA Symphony Orchestra, Sidney Rothstein, conductor
       also: Stanford University's sixth annual "Visions of Asian Music", February 5-21, 2010
       Shoko Hikage, Koto and the Stanford Philharmonia Orchestra
       [3] San Francisco Classical Voice (sfcv.org)

CONCERT BAND

EVOCATIONS (1968) 8 min. Shawnee Press 1968.

       The New York City All-City High School band performed it at Carnegie Hall,
       Gabriel Kosakoff, conductor (5/22/74).

FANFARE AND CEREMONIAL (1963) 5 min.

       Written at the MacDowell Colony on a University of Wisconsin research grant.
       Published and recorded on Bandfare album 11 by Shawnee Press.

GAMELAN GONG (1971) 5 min.

       Commissioned by the Curriculum Research Center, University of Hawaiʻi.
       First performed by the University of Hawaiʻi Symphonic Band, Richard Lum, conductor.
       "…the purpose of the composition is not to recreate the authentic sound of a
        Balinese gamelan ensemble, but rather to represent its overall effect
        using elements of Western instrumental music." Neil McKay, Instrumentalist 10/75.
         (Hawaii Symphonic Band Ensemble, Grant Okamura, conductor. Presents "Summer Spectacular II
         In honor of Dr. Neil McKay"  Video of the performance August 5, 2017, can be found @youtube
         [4] "Gamelan Gong")

NA MELE OVERTURE (Songs of Hawaiʻi) For Wind Ensemble (2004) 12 min.

       Comissioned by Pacific Music Institute. Premiered by the Honolulu Symphonic Winds,
       Pearl City Cultural Center, Hawaiʻi, Henry Miyamura, Conductor.

OPERA

KAHALAOPUNA, PRINCESS OF MANOA (1994) 45 min.

       Opera for youth based on a Hawaiian legend. Piano, 8 soloists and chorus.
       Commissioned by the Hawaiʻi Youth Opera Chorus, Nola Nahulu, director.
       Libretto by the composer. Filmed and broadcast for Hawaiʻi Public Television.

LA’IE’IKAWAI, PRINCESS OF THE RAINBOW (1995) 55 min.

       Opera for youth based on a Hawaiian legend. Piano, 12 soloists and chorus.
       Libretto by the composer.  Commissioned by the Hawaiʻi Youth Opera Chorus, Nola Nahulu,
       director. Performed at Neil Blaisdell Concert Hall, Honolulu, Aaron Mahi, conductor.

RING AROUND HARLEQUIN (1965) 35 min.

       Comic opera, libretto by Grady Smith.  Five performers with piano or orchestra. Performed
       at the New York City Director’s Festival, University of Washington, John Hagen, producer.

PLANTING A PEAR TREE (1970) 17 min.

       Experimental adaptation of ancient Chinese legend. 10 characters. Orchestra on
       stage with Eastern and Western instruments. Libretto by the composer.

CHORUS

BEYOND THE TEMPEST‘ S SOUND (1994) 5 min.

       Women’s chorus (SSA) with Koto or Harp or String Orchestra or
       String Quartet.  Commissioned by the Inouye Ensemble of New York.

KU’U PUA ROSE (1999) for Chorus (SATB) and light percussion played by chorus members.

       Poem by W.M.K. Laymance in English and Hawaiian. Commissioned
       by Timothy Carney for the Hawaiʻi Vocal Arts Ensemble.

PRAYER FOR PEACE (1988)

       Scored for mixed chorus, piano/organ, and soprano solo. Also scored for strings
       alone or chamber ensemble. First performed by members of the University of
       Hawaiʻi chamber singers and chamber ensemble, Timothy Carney, conductor,
       in St. Andrews Cathedral, Honolulu.

A VIRTUOUS WOMAN (1986) 7 min. SATB and Organ.

       Commissioned by Kamehameha Schools, Hawaiʻi for the dedication of the new
       Bernice Pauahi Bishop Memorial Chapel. Text from Proverbs, Chapter 31, verses
       10-31 in English and Hawaiian. First performed in the Chapel by the
       Centennial Choir, Dorothy Gillett, conductor, Maude Kesaji Gibbs, organist. 

VOICE (SOLO)

THE DEAF MAN AND THE DIVA (1995) 10 min. For soprano and piano.

       Text by William Leyerle.  

FOUR SPIRITUAL SONGS (1991) 8 min.

       For medium voice and piano.  Adaptation of revival songs with modal melodic
       lines and strong rhythm – "Ho, Everyone That Thirsts", "Blos die  Drompeten,
       blos", "Old Churchyard" and "End of the World". 

HOW LITTLE WHILE (1982) 8 min.

       For soprano and flute.  From Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
       First performed by Clare Hamamoto, soprano and Jean Harling, flute.

HONOLULU (I fell in love with) (1967) 4 min.

       Popular song, words and music by Neil McKay.
       Arrangements: piano-vocal; male glee club (a capella); SATB and piano;
       SSA and piano; concert band with baritone (voice optional); jazz ensemble and
       tenor voice; symphony orchestra and baritone (see above under Orchestra).
       Recordings include:
     "Reaching Out Touching You", Kamehameha Alumni Glee Club HS-540
       Dorothy Gillett, director
     "Time", Lyle Ritz, ukulele, Sakuma Prodictions RSCD5583
     "Where is My Love Tonight", Ohta San, ukulele, Sakuma Productions RSCD3888
     "The Best of the Makaha Sons", Tropical Music SPCD9074
     "Return to Romance", Matt Catingub Orchestra of Hawaiʻi,
     sung by Matt Catingub and Na Leo.

KUBLA KHAN (1977) 16 min.

       The musically surrealistic adaptation incorporates jazz, folk song and Asian tonal elements
       Performed by Clare Hamamoto and faculty ensemble.

THERE ONCE WAS…(1981) 6 min. Leyerle Pub.

       Introduction and Five Limericks for MediumVoice and Piano.
       

SOLOS, DUOS AND CHAMBER ENSEMBLES

Bassoon

FOUR SKETCHES for Bassoon and Percussion (1985)10 min. Written for Paul

      Barrett, principal bassoon Honolulu Symphony.
      Premiered at First Unitarian Church, Honolulu, by Paul Barrett and
      Jason Arkis, percussion.

Clarinet

CONNEXIONS, Four Inventions for Bb Clarinet and Basset Horn or Bass

       Clarinet (1991) 10 min. Written on commission from the Office of
       Research Relations of the University of Hawaii-Manoa. Premiere performances
       by Scott Anderson, clarinet, and James Moffit, basset horn.

SONATINA for Clarinet and Piano (1996) 12 min.

       Commissioned by Henry Miyamura. Premiered by Henry
       Miyamura and Marianne Miyamura.

SOUNDPRINTS for Clarinet and Koto (1982) 7 min.

       Winner, first prize, American Chamber Music Composition Competition (1983)
       Premiered by Henry Miyamura, clarinet, and Neil McKay, koto. 

SUITE OF MINIATURES for Bb Clarinet and Percussion (1989)

       10 min. Commissioned by Hawaiʻi Music Teachers Association.
       Premiered by Henry Miyamura, clarinet, and Wayne Yabiku, percussion.

French Horn

SONATINA for Horn and Piano (1962) 8 min.

       A three-movement work dedicated to and first performed by Harold Rutan, first
       horn of the Duluth Symphony Orchestra, and pianist Marion McKay at the
       University of Wisconsin, Superior.

Saxophone

FOUR BY FOUR (2004) 7 min.

       Soprano, alto, tenor, baritone sax. Four movements: Waltz, Eccentric Dance,
       Lullaby, Caprice.  Premiered by the University of Hawaii Saxophone Quartet, 
       Todd Yukumoto, director. Recorded by the Washington (DC) Saxophone Quartet.

String Quartet

STRING QUARTET (1961) 10 min.

       Written at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, NH.  Premiered at the 4th
       Annual Symposium of Contemporary Music, University of Kansas, Lawrence.
       by the Chicago Fine Arts Quartet.

Violin

SONATA for Violin and Piano (1952) 12 min.

       Premiere performance at the Eastman School of Music for the 7th Annual Symposium
       of the International Federation of Music Schools

Woodwind Quintet

FIVE BY FIVE (1998) Five Miniatures (fl, ob, cl, hn, bsn) 8 min.

       Music for Winds, Marsha Schweitzer, Publisher. 

String Quartet and Clarinet

ODE TO AQUARIUS (2009) For solo Bb Clarinet and String Quartet.

       "Aquarius", a mosaic created by artist Tadashi Sato in 1970, is displayed in the
       rotunda of the Hawaiʻi State Capitol building in Honolulu.  On its restoration in
       2009, Tadashi’s sister, Keiko, commissioned the composition "Ode to Aquarius".
       in celebration. Premiered by James Moffitt, clarinet, and the Galliard String
       Quartet at the Doris Duke Theatre, Honolulu.

KOTO

WORLD(S) (1970) 7 min.

       Three-movement work commissioned by Ricardo Trimillos who performed
       the work in Hawaiʻi, on the mainland United States, and in countries around
       the world – the Philippines, Japan, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Austria.
       Performed by Keiko Nosaka in Carnegie Hall, New York as part of a world tour
       6/24/81. Recorded by Keiko Nosaka for Camerata Records (Tokyo) CMT-1048

PIANO

FOUR MINIATURES (1957) Shawnee 1974

       "Dance, March, Lullaby, Caprice". 

TRIOLOGUE for Two Prepared Pianos and Percussion (1969) 6 min.

VALSE LENTE ET SENTIMENTALE (1969) 2 min.

       Written for and performed by pianist Peter Coraggio on a program presented by
       the Dance Department, Kennedy Theatre, University of Hawaii, Honolulu. Also the
       first movement of FIVE BY FIVE for woodwind quintet.

References

LINKS: https://libraries.uta.edu/sci/sites/sci/files/nc_1979.pdf