Biography

“Maxime McKinley is one of the most interesting composers of his generation. Painting, literature, philosophy, poetry and music weave an eclectic web in the head of this creator.” (Guy Marceau, Paroles & Musique, 2006)

"["Wirkunst-Gómez"] was rhythmically vibrant and strikingly imaginative. A myriad of musical and cultural references churned in a well-crafted and seamlessly performed collage, often punctuated by rhythmic attacks on the guitar by Pablo Gómez, one of Mexico’s outstanding guitarists." (Anna Höstman, Canadian New Music Review, 2006)

"Maxime McKinley’s “Wirkunst-Nijinski" (2007), inspired by the great Russian dancer’s labyrinth-like notebooks and drawings, was the most kinetic piece of the evening, had a beat, called very interesting sounds out of David Hetherington’s cello, combined hammered church bell sounds with high pitched ref’s whistle and ended peacefully as a requiem." (Stanley Fefferman, Showtime magazine, 2008)

"Maxime McKinley's "Fisher-Price" Concerto (Lacroix conducting) was a spoof for multiple recorders requiring outrageous feats of virtuosity from Matthias Maute, all smartly accomplished." (Arthur Kaptainis, Montreal Gazette, 2009)

Maxime McKinley was born in the Eastern Townships (Quebec) in 1979, and lives in Montreal. He studied composition with Michel Gonneville at the Conservatoire de Montréal, where he graduated with the Prix avec Grande Distinction in 2004. He also studied composition with Isabelle Panneton at the Université de Montréal, where he received a Doctorate in 2009. Thanks to grants from the Canada Arts Council, Conseil des Arts du Québec and from the Prix d'Europe composition prize, he stayed in Paris twice, in 2007 and 2009-10, to study with Martin Matalon. He also had masterclasses or private lessons with composers Hugues Dufourt, Peter Eötvös, Kenneth Hesketh, Philippe Leroux, Armando Luna, and Bruno Mantovani.

Maxime McKinley has received commissions from several and very diversified ensembles and organisations, ranging from specialized contemporary music to symphony orchestras, early instruments to multidisciplinary projects. During the last years, his works have been performed, among others, by the Camerata de las Américas, the Toronto Esprit Orchestra, Toronto New Music Concerts, the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, Clavecin en concert, the Orchestre de la francophonie canadienne, the Orchestre de l’Université de Montréal, the Orchestre symphonique des jeunes de Montréal, the Orchestre du Conservatoire de Montréal, the Ensemble Alizé, the Ensemble Allogène, the Ensemble Caprice, the Ensemble contemporain de Montréal, the Ensemble Chorum, the Trio Fibonacci, the Trio Hochelaga, the Duo Prémices, and soloists such as Julie-Anne Derome, Jérôme Ducharme, Pablo Gómez, Matthias Maute and Matan Porat. His works have been presented in many festivals, including the Festival de l’Association des orchestres de jeunes du Québec (Laval), the Symposium international d’art in situ de la Fondation Derouin (Val-David), the Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival, the New Wave Composers Festival (Toronto), the Festival Eurochestries (Charente-Maritimes), the Foro internacional de musica nueva Manuel Enriquez (Mexico), and the International Northeast Guitar Festival (Saltillo). His music is regularly performed all over Canada, as well as in United States, France and Mexico, and has been broadcasted on CBC Radio Two and Espace Musique de Radio-Canada. Two of his pieces appear on the DVD Jérôme Ducharme - GFA Winner 2005 (21903DVD), published in 2011 by the american label Mel Bay Publications.

Maxime McKinley won the Prix d'Europe de composition 2009 (Père-Fernand-Lindsay Prize), has received eleven prizes in the SOCAN national competition for young composers (including the John-Weinzweig Grand Prize ex-aequo in 2011), the Prix collégien de musique contemporaine (2011), a commission prize in the competition of the Orchestre de l'Université de Montréal (2005), and the TSYO Canadian composer’s competition prize (2006). In addition, he was selected to participate in the Young Composers Program of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa (2005) and the Génération 2006 tour of the Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal (Montreal, Calgary, Victoria, Edmonton, Toronto). His High School, the Seminaire Salesien of Sherbrooke, awarded him the Pericles Prize in 2008, which honors an alumni student who has distinguised himself in the arts and intellectual spheres, and who can now serve as a role model to younger generations of students. He received various grants, including several from the Canada Arts Council, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the National Arts Centre Donor’s Circle, the SOCAN Fondation and the Faculté des études supérieures de l’Université de Montréal. He is a member of the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) and an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre (CMC). He was previously a member of the artistic comittee of the Society Codes d'Accès (2002-2003) and is now a member of the artistic comittee of the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ, since 2008), as well as a member of the national council of the Canadian League of Composers (CLC, since 2009). Maxime McKinley has continuously deepened his reflection on arts and, in 2001, he won the lecture contest « Présences de la musique », organized by the Société québécoise de recherches en musique. As a writer, he has collaborated with various magazines in Quebec and France, including Circuit - for which he is admistrative director and editorial secretary - and Le Quartanier. He will be composer in residence at the Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur for the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons.