Neil Mackie
Encyclopedia
Neil Mackie CBE
, CStJ, FRSE
, FRCM, FRSAMD (born 1946) is a Scottish
classical tenor
and Professor at the Royal Academy of Music
. During his 30 year international career as a singer, he was closely associated with the works of 20th century composers, particularly Benjamin Britten
, and Peter Maxwell Davies
. He created the title role in Davies' opera The Martyrdom of St Magnus
and Sandy in his The Lighthouse
and performed in the world premieres of Davies' Into the Labyrinth, cantata for tenor and chamber orchestra, and The Jacobite Rising, a choral work commissioned to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Jacobite Rising
. He has also premiered vocal works by Elliot Carter (In Sleep, in Thunder), Hans Werner Henze
(Three Auden Songs) and numerous songs by Benjamin Britten.
and studied as an undergraduate at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama. Following postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music
, he studied singing in Munich with Ernst Haefliger
then with the English tenor Peter Pears
, who was to become a life-long friend. He made his professional debut in London when he sang as a soloist with English Chamber Orchestra
under Raymond Leppard
From 1983 he was also Professor of Singing at the Royal College of Music
and in 1993 became head of the Department of Vocal Studies there. He left the Royal College of Music at the end of 2008 when he took up a professorship at the Royal Academy of Music. Mackie was made a Commander of the British Empire in the 1996 New Year's Honours List for his services to music
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, CStJ, FRSE
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
, FRCM, FRSAMD (born 1946) is a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
classical tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
and Professor at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
. During his 30 year international career as a singer, he was closely associated with the works of 20th century composers, particularly Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, and Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
. He created the title role in Davies' opera The Martyrdom of St Magnus
The Martyrdom of St Magnus
The Martyrdom of St Magnus is a chamber opera in one act by the British composer Peter Maxwell Davies. The libretto, by Davies himself, is based on the novel Magnus by George Mackay Brown. The opera was first performed in St...
and Sandy in his The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse (opera)
The Lighthouse is a chamber opera with words and music by Peter Maxwell Davies.The scenario was inspired by a true story. In December 1900 a lighthouse supply ship called the Hesperus, based in Stromness, Orkney, went on its routine tour of duty to the Flannan Isles in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland...
and performed in the world premieres of Davies' Into the Labyrinth, cantata for tenor and chamber orchestra, and The Jacobite Rising, a choral work commissioned to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Jacobite Rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
. He has also premiered vocal works by Elliot Carter (In Sleep, in Thunder), Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
(Three Auden Songs) and numerous songs by Benjamin Britten.
Life and career
Mackie was born in AberdeenAberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
and studied as an undergraduate at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama. Following postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, he studied singing in Munich with Ernst Haefliger
Ernst Haefliger
Ernst Haefliger was a Swiss tenor.Haefliger was born in Davos, Switzerland and studied at the Zürich Conservatory. He studied with Fernando Capri in Geneva and Julius Patzak in Vienna....
then with the English tenor Peter Pears
Peter Pears
Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE was an English tenor who was knighted in 1978. His career was closely associated with the composer Edward Benjamin Britten....
, who was to become a life-long friend. He made his professional debut in London when he sang as a soloist with English Chamber Orchestra
English Chamber Orchestra
The English Chamber Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and the ECO Ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall...
under Raymond Leppard
Raymond Leppard
Raymond "Def" Leppard, CBE is a British conductor and harpsichordist.He was born in London and grew up in Bath, where he was educated at the City of Bath Boys' School, now known as the Beechen Cliff School...
From 1983 he was also Professor of Singing at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
and in 1993 became head of the Department of Vocal Studies there. He left the Royal College of Music at the end of 2008 when he took up a professorship at the Royal Academy of Music. Mackie was made a Commander of the British Empire in the 1996 New Year's Honours List for his services to music
Sources
- Cummings, David (ed.), International Who's Who in Music, Routledge, 2000. ISBN 0948875534
- Craggs, Stewart R., Benjamin Britten: a bio-bibliography, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002, pp. 72–77. ISBN 031329531X
- The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, The New Year Honours: The Prime Minister's List, 30 December 1995 (accessed 23 January 2010) - Link, John F., Elliott Carter: a guide to research, Taylor & Francis, 2000, p. 37. ISBN 0815324324
- MaxOpus (official web site of Peter Maxwell Davies), Work Detail: Into the Labyrinth
- Pears, Peter, The Travel Diaries of Peter Pears, 1936-1978, Boydell & Brewer, 1999 p. 202. ISBN 0851157416
- Royal Academy of MusicRoyal Academy of MusicThe Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
, Neil Mackie - Schott MusicSchott MusicSchott Music is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe and is currently the second oldest music publishing house. The company headquarters of Schott Music was founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz, Germany in 1770.Established in...
Three Auden Songs - Scottish Music Centre, Jacobite Rising, The (1997)