(b. 1979, Sherbrooke, Québec).
Canadian composer of mostly orchestral and chamber works that have been performed in Europe and North America.
Mr. McKinley studied composition with Michel Gonneville at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, where he graduated with the Prix avec Grande Distinction in 2004. He then studied composition with Isabelle Panneton at the Université de Montréal, where he earned his DMus in 2009. He also studied composition privately with Martín Matalon and Gérard Pesson in Paris in 2007, on a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, and 2010, on a grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.
Among his honours are selection to participate in the Young Composers Program of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa (2005) and the project Génération 2006 of Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal (2006), the Prix d'Europe de composition / Prix Père-Fernand-Lindsay from the government of Québec (2009), the Prix collégien de musique contemporaine (2011), and the Prix Opus as Compositeur de l'année from the Conseil québécois de la musique in Montréal (2012).
He has also held other posts. He served on the artistic committee of the ensemble and organisation Société de musique contemporaine du Québec in Montréal from 2008–16 and on its administrative board from 2012–16. He served on the national council of the Canadian League of Composers from 2009–14. He has written articles and poems for publications in Belgium, Canada and France. including the journal Circuit, musiques contemporaines and the review Le quartanier, both in Montréal. He served as administrative director and editorial secretary of Circuit, musiques contemporaines from 2010–12 and has served on its editorial board since 2012 and as its editor-in-chief since 2016. He served as composer-in-residence at the Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur in Montréal from 2011–14.
He was a postdoctoral researcher at the Chaire de recherche du Canada en esthétique et poétique at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréalfrom 2014–16. He has taught as a part-time professor at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal since 2017. In addition, he taught as professeur invité at the Université de Montréal in 2019–20.
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS
STAGE:
Re : ...être cela même..., 2 female performance-artists (one + music box), guitar, 2009 (version of ...être cela même...; collaboration with Sophie Castonguay, Mathieu Marcoux)
Sur le fil (micro-opéra), mezzo-soprano, tenor, percussion, 2015 (collaboration with Nicolas Gilbert)
Dégel (choreography by Yukichi Hattori), dance troupe, orchestra, 2017 (section of True North: Symphonic Ballet, a collaboration with Hal Eagletail, Dinuk Wijeratne, Derek Charke, Dorothy Chang, Vincent Ho; may be performed separately as a concert work)
À l'écoute de Marcel (spectacle immersif pour enfants d'après l'œuvre de Marcel Barbeau, text by Marcel Barbeau), clarinet (+ voice, objects, sculptures), cello (+ voice, objects, sculptures), fixed media, film, 2018–23 (collaboration with Sylvain Pohu)
ORCHESTRAL:
Devri Kebir l'inventeur, 2002
Wirkunst-Kundera, 2003–06 (each of its two sections may be performed separately: La vie est ailleurs [Wirkunst-Kundera I], 2003–04; Les testaments trahis [Wirkunst-Kundera II], 2005–06)
Wirkunst-Pellan, 2006
Wirkunst-Yourcenar, 2007
Concerto 'Fisher-Price', recorder, small orchestra (15 players), 2008–09
Postseason, clarinet, violin, piano, small orchestra, 2010
Bondye konn bay men li pa konn separe, DJ, orchestra, 2012 (collaboration with DJ Champion)
Dans de la nature, English horn, basset horn, French horn, orchestra, 2013
...14, 29, 45..., 2017 (section of La Symphonie d'Hochelaga, a collaboration with John Rea, Maxime Goulet, Alejandra Odjers; may be performed separately)
Dégel, 2017 (concert version of section of True North: Symphonic Ballet)
Murales (homenaje a Derouin), guitar, small orchestra (piano, strings), 2022–23
Flèches (hommage à Rita Letendre), small orchestra (15 players), 2023
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Figures de sable, guitar, 1998
Katégémon-Proposis, guitar, violin, cello, percussion, 1998
Intermittences cérébrales et / ou rotor cervical, trombone, 1999
Solspic, piccolo, 1999
Microscopie d'étoiles, 7 trumpets, 2000
Hommage à Jean-Paul Riopelle, piccolo, 6 flutes, bass flute, 2000
Zénon l'alchimiste, cello, 2001 (shorter version of vocal work)
Le taureau bleu, oboe, bass clarinet, violin, viola, double bass, 2001
...être cela même..., guitar, 2002 (also stage version as Re : ...être cela même..., 2 female performance-artists [one + music box], guitar [collaboration with Sophie Castonguay, Mathieu Marcoux])
Tombeau de Dietrich Buxtehude, 4 French horns, 4 B-flat trumpets, 2 trombones, bass trombone, baritone horn, tuba, 2 percussion, 2003
Wirkunst-Forum, violin, cello, piano, 2004–05
Wirkunst-Fellini, flute (+ piccolo), clarinet (+ E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet), bassoon (+ contrabassoon), French horn, trumpet, harp, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, percussion, 2005
Wirkunst-Gómez, guitar, ensemble (flute [+ piccolo], clarinet [+ bass clarinet], French horn, trombone, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, percussion), 2006
Wirkunst-Nijinski, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2007
Sorciers manga, 4 harpsichords, 2 violins, viola, cello, 2008
Territoire lune, violin, 2009
Mandala, guitar, 2010
Mauricio, violin, cello, piano, 2010
Hommage à Louis C. Tiffany, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 2011
1998, flute, clarinet, piano, 2011
Les pavements de San Marco, violin, piano, 2012
Machine détraquée, violin, viola, cello, piano, 2012 (also version of material as Machines métaphoriques)
Les pavements de San Marco 2, viola, fixed media, 2012–13 (collaboration with Adam Basanta)
Les pavements de San Marco 3, cello, fixed media, 2012–13 (collaboration with Adam Basanta)
Machines métaphoriques, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2012–13 (version of material from Machine détraquée, Machine désirante)
Machine désirante, violin, viola, cello, piano, 2013 (also version of material as Machines métaphoriques)
Paradoxes du même et de l'autre (d'après des lectures d'Alain Badiou), string quartet, fixed media, 2013–14 (each of its four sections may be performed separately: Sept proximités [suite], 2 violins, 2013; Indécidable, indiscernable, string quartet, 2014; Quatre singularités, string quartet, 2014; Inachèvements, viola, cello, 2014)
À son insu, orgue de sirènes (invented instrument), fixed media, 2014 (collaboration with Adam Basanta)
Cinq litotes, cello (used as a percussion instrument), 2015
Poèmes Schaeffner (d'après le poème de Philippe Beck), percussion, fixed media, 2015 (collaboration with James O'Callaghan)
Reflets de Francesca Woodman, 4 electric guitars, 2017
Psittacus, recorder, 2017
Cortile di Pilato, cello, harpsichord, 2017
Sunburst (esquisse Barbeau I), clarinet, cello (+ voice), fixed media, 2018 (collaboration with Sylvain Pohu)
Instants privilégiés (esquisse Barbeau II), bass clarinet, fixed media, 2018 (collaboration with Sylvain Pohu)
Falling Blue (homage to Agnes Martin), violin, cello, piano, 2019
Espaces fictifs (in memoriam Guido Molinari et Fernande Saint-Martin), string quartet, 2019–20
Borromean Knots, 3 Baroque cellos, 2020
Tumulus-Cumulus (pour Bill T. Jones), flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2021
Manifestations solubles (cinq lettres à André Breton), flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 2024
DOLMEN (in memoriam Roland Giguère), 4 saxophones, 2024–25
VOCAL:
Zénon l'alchimiste (text by the composer), tenor–speaker, 2 flutes, oboe, French horn, trumpet, 2 guitars, 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, 2 double basses, synthesizer, 2001–02 (also shorter version for cello)
Quatre miroirs-loukoum précédés par 'Le salon' (text by the composer), soprano, percussion, fixed media, 2003 (collaboration with Joël-Aimé Beauchamp)
La voix de Perceval (text by Tania Langlais), baritone (+ singing bowl), violin, viola da gamba, 2009
Mort objet petit a (text by the composer, after Jacques Lacan, St. Teresa of Ávila), baritone (+ crotale), piano, 2012
Lully & Rameau (d'après le poème de Philippe Beck) (text by Philippe Beck), mezzo-soprano, recorder, Baroque cello, harpsichord, percussion, 2016
PIANO:
An example of making anything signify anything, 2011
Héros-Limite, 2013
Fausse Fille d'Elle-même, Musicante (d'après le poème de Philippe Beck), piano 4 hands, 2016
Mots gelés (d'après le poème de Philippe Beck), piano, fixed media, 2016
ORGAN:
Destinerrance, 2013
HARPSICHORD:
Wirkunst-Lorca, harpsichord, fixed media, 2004, revised 2007 (collaboration with Joël-Aimé Beauchamp)
ELECTROACOUSTIC:
Transports (sound installation), 2007 (collaboration with Joël-Aimé Beauchamp)
Dispositif d'archives (suite radiophonique), fixed media, 1999–2015 (collaboration with Adam Basanta)
Première chasse (d'après le poème de Philippe Beck), fixed media, 2015 (collaboration with James O'Callaghan)