Free Download – Lush for Soprano Saxophone, Piano, and Jazz Orchestra

As my holiday gift to you, please enjoy a free download of my composition “Lush” for soprano saxophone (Rob Jacoby), piano (Rich Shemaria), and jazz orchestra (NYU).

Grit and Glitz – A New String Trio Premiered in Brooklyn

I was recently invited by the W4 New Music Collective to participate in their program of new music at Exapno in Brooklyn, NY. I composed a new string trio for the concert and had a lot of fun collaborating with Patti Kilroy (violin), Nick Revel (viola), and Rose Bellini (cello) in preparation for the premiere.

“Grit and Glitz” is a high energy show-off piece. Venturing out into the territory of catchy pop and rock melodic gestures, it creates a safe and accessible sonic environment, yet consistently stretches its boundaries until it breaks into a cadenza/ improvisatory section exploring jazz harmonies. “Grit and Glitz” feels familiar, yet surprises with fresh textures and unexpected turns.

The title “Grit and Gliz” marks my first Brooklyn premiere and expresses my love-hate relationship with the New York borough depicting my fascination with the glitzy and chic neighborhoods and my dismay after being lost at night in a gritty part of town.

The enclosed track features a live recording from September 25, 2011.

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Photo by Barry Yanovitz.

My Music on SoundCloud

You can now find some of my music on SoundCloud – listen, download, comment, or follow me.

Latest tracks by Dosia McKay

Hidden Art

A few months ago I went for a walk around the Lower Manhattan’s financial district. I was looking forward to arriving at my final destination – the trendy waterfront boardwalk, but because of the ongoing construction around the World Trade Center, I had to follow a detour of back streets, elevators, and stairs just to cross over a highway. I knew this route from my previous walks and dreaded its noise, dust, and overall uninspiring industrial, makeshift feel. The temporary bridge over the road was wrapped with steel wire, presumably to prevent would-be jumpers or throwers of large objects. It created a sense of coldness, ugliness, even imprisonment. The stairs to the passage proved to be a nuisance as well. Made of hard concrete with steal handrails, their risers seemed taller than usual, causing a slight shortness of breath in those who, like me, don’t favor a consistent cardio routine. But the beautiful waterfront was just a few minutes away, so I didn’t mind the temporary discomfort.

Suddenly something caught my eye to the side of the stairs. It was the building adjacent to them. I had a direct access to the windows of the first floor and then the second, as I ascended, what now seemed like, a scaffolding. This was interesting. I looked at the arches of the window openings, the cornices, the connecting plates ornate with reliefs of animals and mythical figures. The wall of the building was covered with dirt, dust, and mold, but at the same time exuded certain elegance and stateliness. So much attention to detail and a good old-world craftsmanship.

And then I realized that the ornamentation could only be witnessed from this temporary scaffolding. If I were to walk on the street level, and even raise my head to look toward the second story, I would have never seen it!

Being an artist, and a practical one at that, I began to think about the artisans who created the reliefs. Were they proud that their work was featured on a prominent building in New York City? Were they aware that the pedestrians beneath would never see their artwork? What about the architect who designed the building? Why did he choose to ornament the higher floors if no one could really benefit from the design? Was it frivolous, superfluous, wasteful?

I choose to believe that it was neither. I think that true artists create out of love and respect of art itself. They pursue excellence and perfection in every detail not merely to receive accolades of the audience, but to fulfill an inner calling. The architect added the intricate ornaments to the façade on upper floors because only in this way the building would be whole. It wouldn’t make any difference to the pedestrians, or the occupants, but it would make every difference to the legacy of the designer.

I think about how our contemporary society urges us to immediately display everything of ourselves for the inspection of public opinion, and how dangerous it is for myself and my colleagues in creative fields to always feel the pressure that we must perform, prove, dazzle, entertain, justify, and monetize. Yes, I am very aware that money must be earned, bread must be put on the table, subscribers must be alerted, and investors must be reassured. Yet it is wonderfully refreshing to stumble from time to time on a hidden, unassuming gem that gives meaning and inspiration to a narrow circle of friends, one person, or perhaps only ourselves.

©2011 Dosia McKay

Film Soundtrack Recording Session – Behind the Scenes View

I had the privilege to record 4 demo soundtracks with the New York University session players over the last two years. My first session featured 5 instruments, the second session – 11, then I got to record with the string orchestra, and finally, with the symphony orchestra.

The present video captures the recording session with the string orchestra and harp with me (composer) as a conductor. The film excerpt comes from The Cathedral by Pixar (directed by Tomek Bagiński). The recording took place in the Frederick Loewe Theatre in Manhattan in November 2010.

“Unveiling” Premiered by North/South Consonance in New York City

Play Excerpt 1
Play Excerpt 2

On June 7 North/South Consonance under the direction of Max Lifchitz premiered my work for string orchestra entitled “Unveiling”. The concert took place in the Christ and St. Stephen’s Church and featured three other contemporary American composers.

I finished writing “Unveiling” exactly a year ago, and this realization causes me to reflect on how much work, diligence, and patience a composer must possess before he/she sees any fruit of their labor. In a sense, I view my compositions as my children. I do not abandon them at birth, but care for them, promote them, and believe in them. I know what they can become even when they are mere scribbles on staff paper or awkward MIDI (computer) demo renditions. When the time is right, the score lands in the hands of the conductor, the parts are distributed to the players, and only then the work can reach its full maturity. As I listened to the orchestra play “Unveiling”, I felt that my music lived and breathed independently of me and that it became even more than I envisioned, all on its own.

“Unveiling” is an exploration of layers of sounds. Beginning with one solitary note, new aural strata gradually unfold in which multiple layers of counterpoint constantly shift, weave, and intersect until the tension is finally broken in an unveiling of a tender and fleeting soundscape featuring a love duet between cello and violin. The closing section is a reversal of the opening in which the layers of sound gradually recede until only the opening solitary note remains. In this work I return to my Polish heritage and the listener is likely to hear echoes of string writing of such composers as Grażyna Bacewicz, Romuald Twardowski, or Henryk Górecki.
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In the photo Max Lifchitz and I after the concert.

Middle Eastern, Indian, and Western Instruments Create a Unique Blend in the Soundtrack

I recently had the privilege to work on a soundtrack to a documentary entitled “The Work is One” by Michelle Pomeroy from the NYU Wagner School of Public Service. The film presented a challenge because not only did it call for underscoring very contrasting emotions, but it also required an inclusion of traditional ethnic instruments. I use the word “ethnic” in a very ignorant and ethnocentric way, because it seems that in the music circles everything that does not revolve around traditional European instruments, is considered “ethnic”. Be that as it may, I needed to explore beyond the familiar.

The country in question is Afghanistan, but because of its geographic location and various surrounding cultural influences, and given that there is no such thing as a uniquely Afghani instrument, I widened my sound palette to include sounds from India and the Middle East. In the end I decided on the santor, cabasa, utar, tabla, tambourine, and duduk. But because I needed the music to appeal to the Western ear, I also included piano and an array of synthesized sounds.

Dosia McKay
www.dosiamckay.com

My Musical Interpretation of “The Girl on the Bridge” Knife Throwing Scene

I had the privilege to record 4 demo soundtracks with the NYU session players over the last two years. My first session featured 5 instruments, the second session – 11, then I got to record with the string orchestra, and finally, with the symphony orchestra.

For my final session I wanted to do something unexpected and daring. I am naturally drawn to drama and thrive on lyricism, but this time I wanted to explore sensuality and aggressive desire in music. The knife throwing scene from “The Girl on the Bridge” – La fille sur le pont (1999) by Patrice Leconte seemed like the perfect canvas to paint on with bright red.

In the original version, the film features a melancholic song, but my instrumental soundtrack adds a little more poetry and sizzle to the scene, stylistically suggesting the film noir genre.

Enchanting Soundtrack to a Short Film “The Garden”

I recently completed a demo soundtrack to “The Garden” (2009) – a short film by Jason Stefaniak. Enclosed is only a short fragment of the film. My goal in writing for this scene was to create a sense of wonder and enchantment the little girl experiences in exploring the garden, having left the the noise and commotion of the loud city behind.

The Bubble Tree – Winner of the Skirball Film Scoring Competition

My score to The Bubble Tree, an animation by Ran Jing recently won the Skirball Film Scoring Competition and was premiered by the NYU Symphony Orchestra in a live concert synchronized to film on March 7, 2011 in New York.

This black and white film, deceptively simple, was a challenge to score. With its shifting emotional ebbs and flows and frequent changes of pace, composing a soundtrack for a full symphony orchestra required a Swiss watch precision and careful planning. Nevertheless, working on this film was very rewarding.

Let me know what you think about the music and about the message of the film.