The music of composer, oboist, and installation artist Sky Macklay explores bold contrasts, theatrical elements, humor, and the physics of sound production and perception. Her works have been performed by ensembles such as ICE, Yarn/Wire, Wet Ink Ensemble, and Spektral Quartet. Two of her pieces, including the string quartet “Many Many Cadences” discussed in this interview, have received ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Originally from Minnesota, Sky is currently pursuing her DMA in composition at Columbia University in New York, where she studies with Georg Friedrich Haas, George Lewis, and Fred Lerdahl. A practitioner of creative music education, Sky teaches at Columbia and at the Walden School Young Musicians Program in Dublin, New Hampshire—the country’s largest summer school and festival for pre-college composers. Recently, I had the chance to speak with her about poking fun at hierarchies, authorial intent, and exploring politically charged topics as an artist.
Sonic Monuments
An introduction to Sky Macklay
