Steven Mackey

… and we are recording it to pair with Anemology, my sax concerto for

That was my first ever publicity photo!

So nice to find this in my inbox this morning. It brought me back to when called me in May to ask me to compose a piece to open the season in September. Yikes… a tight deadline, but I could obviously not say no.

A few short years later he was recording this and other music he had commissioned from me with on BMG classics.

These were the early days of streaming and the collapse of record companies. Before the first downbeat MTT announced that “this could be the last major label recording of contemporary American orchestral works.”

In all, MTT commissioned 6 pieces from me and his support was life changing. It all began with the premiere of Lost and Found 29 years ago today.

I don’t think I’ve ever been offered as a Mother’s Day gift before. So … if you have a CD player …

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With the release of their 25/26 Season Announcements, I’m very happy to announce the consortium for ’s saxophone concerto, 𝘈𝘕𝘌𝘔𝘖𝘓𝘖𝘎𝘠, led by and the alongside co-commissioners and !! Look for the World Premiere in Monterey, CA and follow-up performances in Seattle and Salt Lake City, October-November 2025!

This commission is also made possible by support from the Gail Straith Commissioning Fund at the University of Michigan.