Mars High School grad hits a high note
Donald McKinney's life has been a series of sweet notes.
“It feels surreal,” said McKinney, a Butler County native. “This is the first award of this scale I've been nominated for.”
McKinney, 41, is up for a Grammy at the
61st Annual Grammy Awards for producing “John Williams At The Movies,” a CD recording project with the Dallas Winds, a professional concert band based in Dallas, Texas.McKinney graduated from Mars High School in 1995 and earned degrees from Duquesne University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate of musical arts in conducting from the University of Michigan.He currently lives in Boulder, Colo., where he is thedirector of bands and an associate professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder.“I know I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing if it weren't for music,” he said.McKinney's nomination is in the Best Classical Compendium category for “
John Williams At The Movies,” which was produced in 2016 and released in 2018 and features the film music of John Williams, an American composer, conductor and pianist, whose film scores include those for “Star Wars” and “Superman.”
This is an excerpt — read more about McKinney in Friday's Butler Eagle.
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