Alex McKay
Alex McKay
For my peace offering, I have created and recorded a four-part vocal arrangement of a piece by Will Cabaniss entitled "Sing For Myself" (I encourage wearing headphones for a better listening experience). I chose this piece not only because of its potential for beautiful vocal lines, but also because of its meaningful text. Every time I listen to this piece, I find different encouraging meanings and I hope that you, as a listener, can find a meaning significant to yourself and share in joy I had while creating this project.
To find peace in our communities, we must first find peace within ourselves. As a daily peace action, I encourage you to take some time out of your regular work, practice, or training schedule and do something for yourself. For example, play a piece that you are not otherwise working on for a class or individual lessons that brings you joy. This could also be interpreted through many other forms of artistic expression. Read, dance, write, perform, watch, or play something artistic that brings you joy. As a performance student it is easy to get caught up in the monotony of a class schedule and forget why you wanted to pursue performance in the first place. Sing for yourself to find inner peace.
My name is Alex McKay and I am a student at The University of Michigan studying Vocal Performance and Asian Languages. Growing up I developed sincere interest in vocal music. As a kid I spent many hours at my piano trying to recreate the lines I had heard in some choral piece. Now that I am a music student, I am excited to have the opportunity to learn the mechanics and fundamentals of part writing and composition in hopes of one day being able to compose and arrange pieces like the ones I get up listening to every day.