Dosia McKay

Composer. Painter. Writer.

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

Composers, improvisers, music theorists — let me show you the sacred architecture hidden in the procession of all 350 chords and scales. The Harmonic Processions book is now available. https://t.co/seKFPj3fka #musictheory #composer #classicalmusic

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

Painters have color swatches, color wheels, and gray scales. Chemists have the Mendeleev’s periodic table of elements. But what do composers have to guide their harmonic explorations? https://t.co/seKFPj3N9I #musictheory #ClassicalMusic

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

I look forward to the premiere of my orchestral work "Earthrise" by the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony under the direction of Douglas Bakenhus. https://t.co/E3tfvXmKsI
https://t.co/UHiBMxVJDB #composer #conductor #orchestra #ClassicalMusic

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

"You can't eat the spoon with a fork."
- this was someone's slip of the toungue in a recent conversation but I can't help but think there is a deeper truth involved.

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

I am working on the orchestral parts for the strings and when they play divisi, I wonder whether it’s Master of Divinity or Doctor of Divinity.
#classicalmusic #composer

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

For those interested in what the work entails, I am enclosing my blog post describing the same process but for Watercolors I formatted several years ago. Not much has changed. The meticulous intensity is about the same.
https://t.co/UHiBMxVJDB
https://t.co/fFmeXFNEDh

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

I am deep in formatting of orchestral parts for Earthrise in preparation for the upcoming premiere. More about that later. 1/2 #composer #orchestra #symphonyorchestra #classicalmusic

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

A strange week. The pope died. A close friend died. Aldi's cart gave me back a Sacagawea dollar instead of a quarter. In God we trust.

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

If we must spring forward, why not do it on a Saturday? #DaylightSavingTime #DaylightSavings

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

You are invited to three upcoming concerts by The Paramount Chamber Players. I am excited to hear a new interpretation of my string trio Grit and Glitz. #calssicalmusic #Knoxville #composer #violin #viola #cello #piano

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

14/ The album is a portrayal of my arduous faith journey. Along the way I have experienced some epiphanies and triumphs, but more acutely, doubt, detours, and despair. I have not arrived yet but I feel that I continue to arrive. https://t.co/lsLTcOVGPx #classicalmusic #Orthodox

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

13/ Every artist struggles with how much to reveal and how much to conceal, but ultimately, we are called to convey and to illustrate our emotions so that others can find in them their own reflection.

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

12/ At the same time, I observe that the more I relinquish my ideas, the more personal and autobiographical the music becomes.

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

11/ When it comes to the creative process, I have given up on bringing my preconceived ideas and find that the attitude of abandonment and curiosity lead me to more unpredictable and transformative places. I much prefer it this way.

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

10/ But enough about techniques. As with much of my recent output, I find that the music continues to speak mystically to me and through me.

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

9/ Those of you who know my previous albums composed with electronic and synthesized sounds will be familiar with these concepts, and the same can be applied to acoustic sounds.

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

8/ I worked with a digital pen on a large canvas and painted layer upon layer, each note drawn by hand, meticulously timed, adjusted, and synchronized with the others.

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

7/ As I composed, I gave myself freedom to paint the sounds without such constraints. As the music swirled in my imagination, I followed it wherever it led.

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

6/ Can this music be performed in a live setting by a single performer? Not likely. It was never meant to be. A pianist will always be limited by the number of timbres one can simultaneously employ, by the number of fingers, and by the stretch of the hand.

[Dosia McKay @dosiamckay]

5/ Many of these unique sounds can be found on this album.