George Frederick Mc Kay - Work at The University of Washington

Work At The University of Washington

In 1927, Carl Paige Wood brought McKay back to the University of Washington as a promising new faculty member. McKay began a four-decade tenure of composing, teaching and leading performing groups in concerts of contemporary and American works in the Seattle metropolitan area. His compositions were performed by orchestras in Philadelphia, Boston, Indianapolis, Rochester, Washington D.C. (Smithsonian), Vancouver, B.C. (CBR Radio), New York (NBC Radio) and Los Angeles over the years, and the Seattle Symphony premiered several of his works 1930-1970, with the composer conducting in some performances. In 1952, McKay was commissioned by the Seattle Symphony to compose the city's Centennial Symphony, now known as "Evocation Symphony" or "Symphony for Seattle". This work has been professionally recorded by the National Symphony of Ukraine with John McLaughlin Williams. Williams has been a strong advocate for McKay's orchestral music and has recorded seven McKay symphonies, including the lively Native-American-influenced piece "From A Moonlit Ceremony" (premiered by Leopold Stokowski in 1946) and "Harbor Narrative", a portrayal of the Northwest Maritime scene from the early 20th century.