Elliott Miles McKinley (born April 23, 1969) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, improviser, and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. He is currently Associate Professor of Music Composition and Theory at

Roger Williams University Roger Williams University (RWU) is a private university in Bristol, Rhode Island. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams (theologian), Roger Williams. The school enrolls over 5,000 students and e ...

in Rhode Island, and director of the Alba Music Festival Composition Program in Italy. His father is the late American composer and jazz pianist

William Thomas McKinley William Thomas McKinley (December 9, 1938 – February 3, 2015) was an American composer and jazz pianist born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania). He wrote more than 300 musical compositions in what he called a neo-tonal style, of which Margalit Fo ...

, who gave Elliott the middle name Miles in honor of

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

Life and work

Born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, McKinley received a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz studies and composition from

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

a Master of Music degree in composition from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, and a Ph.D. from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. His teachers include John McNeil in jazz performance studies, and composers Thomas Oboe Lee,

Malcolm Peyton Malcolm Cameron Peyton (born January 12, 1932, New York City) is an American composer, concert director, conductor, and teacher. Biography Peyton grew up in Princeton, New Jersey and received early classical training in piano starting at age 6, ...

George Balch Wilson George Balch Wilson (January 28, 1927 – October 12, 2021) was an American composer who is known for his contributions to electronic music. In 1955 he won the Prix de Rome for composition. He taught for more than 30 years on the faculty of the U ...

, Alex Lubet, Douglas Geers, David Gompper,

Michael Daugherty Michael Kevin Daugherty (born April 28, 1954) is an American composer, pianist, and teacher. He is influenced by popular culture, Romanticism, and Postmodernism. Daugherty's notable works include his Superman comic book-inspired ''Metropolis Sym ...

, and

William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...

. As of 2020, his catalog of work numbers just over 70, and his music has been described as inspired by jazz and yet "thoroughly self-assured as he twists and bends the orchestral idiom into exciting new shapes." In a review of his string quartets, the reviewer states that "...the strength of McKinley's music lies in his lively rhythms and elastic melodies, and these impressive works show a composer mastering his medium with consummate craft and a fertile, almost improvisational, imagination." New Music Box's Frank Oteri has noted "...rhythms are invariably skewed into something extraordinary." In general, his music is marked by an economy of expression that may be founded on the works by

Anton Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stea ...

and other miniaturists, though McKinley's musical grammar is not in a

dodecaphonic The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition first devised by Austrian composer Josef Matthias Hauer, who published his "law o ...

idiom. McKinley is the recipient of commissions from the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the SOLI Chamber Music Ensemble, the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Music Society, the

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

Contemporary Ensemble, the Martinů String Quartet, the Janàček Trio, Hub New Music, and Transient Canvas. His orchestral music has been performed by the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

, the

Warsaw Philharmonic The Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra ( pl, Orkiestra Filharmonii Narodowej w Warszawie) is a Polish orchestra based in Warsaw. Founded in 1901, it is one of Poland's oldest musical institutions. History The orchestra was conceived on ...

, the Czech Radio Symphony, and his music has been featured on international festivals including the BGSU Contemporary Music Festival, the Indiana State University New Music Festival, and the University of Minnesota SPARK Festival. Among awards, grants, and fellowships are ones from BMI ( Broadcast Music Inc.),Symphony. (1991). United States: American Symphony Orchestra League. New Music USA the

American Composers Forum The American Composers Forum is an American organization that works for the promotion and assistance of American composers and contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum and is based in Saint Paul, Minn ...

, and

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

. McKinley is also active as a performer and improviser, and founding member of the electroacoustic improvisation ensemble, earWorm.

Major works

*''April'' - a meditation for orchestra (1994) *Symphony for Four Players (1996) for clarinet, violin, violoncello, and piano *String Quartet No. 4 (2001) *String Quartet No. 5 (2005) *Three Symphonic Moods (2010) *''Four Grooves'' (2012) for percussion solo, two pianos, and saxophone quartet *String Quartet No. 7 (2014) *Six Movements for Brass Quintet (2015) *String Quartet No. 8 (2016) *Piano Trio No. 1 ''"The Shadow Dancer"'' (2018)

References

External links

Elliott Miles McKinley website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mckinley, Elliott Miles 1969 births Living people 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers American male classical composers American classical composers University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni 21st-century American composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians