Richard McKay (born 1982) is an American conductor, currently serving as music director of the Dallas Chamber Symphony.

Education

McKay holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral conducting from the

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music and dance music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliat ...

, where he studied with Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar and served as assistant conductor of the Peabody orchestras and opera. He earned a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting, and a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance, from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, where he was music director of the University Orchestra and led productions at the Butler Opera Center. McKay attended the Aspen Music Festival as a fellowship conductor and the

Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music is an annual Festival dedicated to contemporary symphonic music by living composers. The music director since 2017 has been Cristian Măcelaru. According to Jesse Rosen, CEO of the League of American Orc ...

as an apprentice conductor under Marin Alsop, where he led the world premiere of Clint Needham's ''Radiant Nation''. He received additional training through festivals and masterclasses with conductors

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (; 18 July 192719 December 2015) was a German Conducting, conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewand ...

, Larry Rachleff, Mark Gibson, Robert Spano,

Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian Americans, Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevge ...

Paavo Järvi Paavo Järvi (; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian conductor. He has been chief conductor of Zurich's Tonhalle since 2020. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia (then occupied by the Soviet Union), to Liilia Järvi and the Estoni ...

Leonard Slatkin Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer. Early life and education Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...

Kenneth Kiesler Kenneth Kiesler (born August 18, 1953) is an American symphony orchestra and opera conductor and mentor to conductors. Kiesler is conductor laureate of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra where he was music director from 1980 to 2000 and founder and d ...

and Leon Fleisher.

Career

McKay began his conducting career at the Baltimore Symphony while at Peabody, and the Dallas Symphony during the tenure of Jaap van Zweden. In 2011, he became the music director of the Dallas Chamber Symphony, where he is credited with spurring the orchestra's artistic growth. During his directorship he has led notable collaborations with artists Anton Nel, Chee-Yun Kim, Kenny Broberg, Kazuhiro Takagi, and Joe Kraemer. He founded the Dallas Chamber Symphony's ''TechNotes'' and ''Taking It to the Streets'' education and outreach programs, which have been funded by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

. He also established the orchestra's Dallas International Piano and

Violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

competitions. Among the orchestras that McKay has conducted are the Fort Worth Symphony, Dallas Opera Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Omaha Symphony, and Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. He is active as a conductor of training orchestras as well, having worked with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, and ensembles at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory,

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. The school was founded in 1920 by a group of supporters led by Martha Bell Sanders and Mary Hutchens Smith, with Ernest Bloch serving as its first dire ...

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

and the

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama () is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and film in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Founde ...

. In 2024 he was given the Dallas History Makers award by the Dallas Historical Society for Excellence in Arts Leadership.

Recordings

* Joseph Thalken,

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...

, ''Chasing Home'', '' Appalachian Spring Suite'', Dallas Chamber Symphony,

Albany Records Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987 and is based in Albany, New York. In May 2024, Albany Records wa ...

, 2024. * Tsontakis, ''Anasa'', David Krakauer clarinet, Aspen Music Festival, AACA, 2013. *

Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

, Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Aspen Music Festival, AACA, 2013. * R. Schumann, Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Manhattan School of Music Symphony, MSM, 2010.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Richard Living people 1982 births 21st-century American conductors (music)