Ron Mackay

Ron MacKay had three careers in music.  And Laura believed he had a fourth.  First, after twenty years as a musician in the Royal Canadian Navy and second a further twenty-five years as one of Nova Scotia’s most successful and influential music educators.  For his third career at age 63 he became a sought-after clinician, conductor, consultant and teacher at the Nova Scotia Teacher’s College, St. Mary’s University, St. Francis Xavier University and Dalhousie University.  In 1993, Ron and the then owner of Buckley’s Music Center in Halifax helped Laura start the Second Wind Community Band.  He became a mentor to the band and to Laura throughout their years of development.  For the fourth career that Laura suggests he had was that he composed and arranged for musicians and bands from the early stages of 3 or 4 notes to the well-established musician.  He created his own publishing company, Ron MacKay Music or ronmacmusic.com

He created works for small ensembles, odd ensembles, soloists, full bands right up to Concert Band Suites such as the Annapolis Royal Suite and Cape Breton Idyll.  His works recounted historical events or depicted the area and as in Cape Breton Idyll he created ‘The Seasons’ inspired by paintings of Laura Mercer.  He started with Summer, then Autumn, then Winter and finished with Spring.

Ron passed in April of 2008, just shy of his 80th birthday and to honour him and his legacy, besides playing his music and arrangements, Laura and Fellow French Horn players started the “Ron MacKay ‘Music For Life’ Horn Choir” in 2009 consisting of community horn players, horn instructors, professional players from symphonies and pro concert bands to students studying French Horn.  In Truro, Nova Scotia there is a weekend created for the novice students called the Ron MacKay ‘Music For Life’ Concert Band Weekend and in the Community BandFest weekends throughout Nova Scotia there is always a Novice Band level besides the Seasoned level Called the MacKay Band.  His legacy lives on.

Laura is always looking for a way to utilize one of his works into her concerts or shows and for sure loves to use his arrangement of the famous folk song, Cape Breton Lullaby as a combined beginner and seasoned level warm up tune at any event she hosts.  There is always so much to learn from this simple folk song besides a favourite Cape Breton tune.  There’s phrasing, ¾ time, shading, accuracy and overall tuning and balance.

The focus in making music is why they felt that Music was for Life.