No Ticket Required; The Music of John Mackey at Ohio State

Composer and guest of the Ohio State University School of Music, John Mackey,  joined Classical101 host Jennifer Hambrick this morning in the studio for an on-air interview. His work,Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony for Band, will be performed tonight by the Ohio State Wind Symphony following his two-day residency on campus. On air this morning, Mackey described his wife's involvement in his work and her inspiration in his compositional process as well as the narrative of Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony for Band, a stunning musical re-telling of Homer's Greek epic poem, Odyssey. When asked about another work featured on air this morning, Kingfishers Catch Fire, Mackey described how his wife named the work after a line from Gerard Manley Hopkin's poem, ‘As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame' and described how the work paraphrases a moment of Stravinsky's epic ballet and orchestral concert work, Firebird. Both of Mackey's descriptions of his compositions display a keen sense of imagery that is palpable in his music. Join John Mackey and Russel Mikkelson for a pre-concert talk at 7:35 p.m. in Weigal Auditorium followed by the Ohio State Wind Symphony's presentation of Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony for Band. This concert is free and open to the public, no ticket required.