Composer David MacDonald writes music that is serious and clever, expressing a fondness for groovy rhythms and delightful surprises. He simultaneously embraces and pokes fun at expectations, like smashing the formality of concert traditions through the irreverent firehose of social media.

Growing up as a trumpet player in St. Louis MO, MacDonald attended the University of Missouri, first focusing on performance and only then discovering an interest in composition. He later earned a M.M. and D.M.A. in composition from Michigan State University. His primary composition teachers have been Ricardo Lorenz, W. Thomas McKenney, and Stefan Freund.

MacDonald believes passionately that new music—even pretty weird music—is for everyone, not just the formally trained few, and he loves sharing new music experiences with a wider audience. In 2010, he co-founded SoundNotionTV, a podcast network featuring audio and video shows about music and the arts. He previously served as founder co- Artistic Director of SCENE&heard, a new music concert series at the (SCENE) Metrospace gallery in East Lansing MI.

Today, David lives in Wichita KS, where he teaches music composition, theory, and technology at Wichita State University. Previously, he has taught at the University of Central Florida and served as president of the Central Florida Composers Forum and Director of Digital Media for the Timucua Arts Foundation.

Albums

Windswept

Release Date: August 9, 2019
Catalog Number: NV6245
21st Century
Chamber
Wind Ensemble
Throughout Navona Records’ WINDSWEPT, the wind quintet makes up the characters of collective stories written by five unique composers. In each piece, the Boston-based Arcadian Winds project a storytelling experience that is joyful, moving, and meaningful to hear.