EWAN MACKAY

Biography

My name is Ewan Mackay. I was born in 1995 in Aberdeen. 

I am a composer and music tutor based in the North East of Scotland. My work is solely inspired by the landscape surrounding me, and strives to translate what I see into the music I compose, in a form of neo-impressionism. 

I studied under Mark Sheridan at the University of the Highlands and Islands, where I gained my BA Hons. in Applied Music in 2019, and my MA in Music and the Environment in 2020. 

In the years following my graduation, my work has been performed by leading ensembles and performers such as the The Hebrides Ensemble, The London Symphony Orchestra and the Red Note Ensemble as well as many soloists.

In 2021 I became and adopted Associate composer of Drake Music Scotland (DMS) – an organisation enabling and promoting the work of disabled musicians, composers and students. This collaboration led to a number of commissions for the Hebrides Ensemble as well as member of DMS Digital Orchestra.

Alongside my composition work, I also run a thriving tuition practice with students of all ages in Piano, Cello and Guitar. My work as a tutor is deeply personal to each student. The core of my practice is the belief that music is for all. I love finding routes to enable imporvement in my students’ performance and learning. This ideology is at the centre of my work with DMS as an Associate Musician. I also work as an Associate with Digital Orchestra North East. The group brings together young people to make music using technology, as well as traditional instruments such as keyboard. This work has been groundbreaking in my practice not only as a tutor but also as a composer pushing the boundries of what I have along considered traditional classical music.

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