Mark McKenzie

Mark McKenzie is an American film composer and orchestrator.

For the soccer player, see Mark McKenzie (soccer). For the rugby union player, see Mark McKenzie (rugby union).
Not to be confused with Mark MacKenzie.
Mark McKenzie
Birth nameMark McKenzie
BornLake City, Minnesota, United States
GenresFilm, symphonic, choral
Occupation(s)Composer
InstrumentsPiano
Years active1985–present

Life and career

An American composer born in Lake City, Minnesota, Mark McKenzie received his undergraduate degree in music composition from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Studying with David and Nancy Baker, Michael Cunningham and Ivar Lunde. He received his Masters and Doctorate in music composition from the USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles where he studied with Pierre Boulez, Morten Lauridsen, Witold Lutoslawski, Anthony Vazzana and Frederick Lesemann.

The Hollywood trade magazine Variety declares: "Mark McKenzie's commanding orchestral prowess puts him among the foremost symphonists in Hollywood." The 125 Motion pictures that McKenzie has orchestrated or composed have grossed over 13 billion dollars at the box office. The Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter and numerous film music journals call Mark's music "timeless, profound, the most lyrical and emotionally resonant music ever written for film, triumphant, sublime, tender, inspiring, ravishing, lush, soulful, magical, the essence of unconditional love, a tribute to the overpowering inherent goodness alive within the human soul and a boundless expression of joy."

Mark's recent orchestral soundtrack to "Max and Me" about Polish Priest Maximilian Kolbe featuring concert violinist Joshua Bell, choir, orchestra and the London boys choir Libera (choir) (Soundtrack available on Sony Classical Records), was nominated by the International Film Music Critics Association as "Best Score of the Year" along with Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Black Panther, First Man (film), and Mary Poppins Returns. Max and Me won the IFMCA Best Animated Score of the Year over Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Incredibles 2 and Isle of Dogs. McKenzie's score "The Greatest Miracle" was also doubly nominated as Best Score of the Year and Best Animated Score of the Year by the International Film Music Critics Association.

Other films composed by McKenzie include the upcoming Dragonheart: Vengeance (Helena Bonham Carter) Accolade Award Winning Saving Sarah Cain (Elliot Gould), The Ultimate Gift (James Garner, Abigail Breslin, Brian Dennehy, Bill Cobbs, My Family/Mi Familia, (Francis Ford Coppola Award winning film directed by Gregg Nava with Edward James Olmos, Jimmy Smits and Esai Morales The Ultimate Life, (James Garner, Bill Cobbs) Blizzard (Whoopie Goldberg), The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca (Andy Garcia, Edward James Olmost, Esai Morales), Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse (Ben Kingsley), Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire (Patrick Stewart), Frank & Jesse (Rob Lowe, Bill Paxton, Randy Travis) as well as the opening and closing logo music to the longest running television series in history, the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Mark's score to "El Gran Milagro" for multiple choirs, orchestra, soloists and the London Boys choir Libera[1] [2] won "Best Indie Score" at the "Hollywood Music in Media Awards" and was doubly nominated as "Best Score of the Year" and "Best Animated Score of the Year" by the International Film Music Critics Association.

Mark has orchestrated over 100 movies assisting composers Danny Elfman, John Barry, Bruce Broughton, Randy Edelman, Jerry Goldsmith, Mark Isham, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, James Newton Howard, Nile Rodgers, Alan Silvestri, Marc Shaiman, and John Williams. Some of these films include the Academy Award Winning music to Dances With Wolves, the Academy nominated movie scores to Good Will Hunting, Men in Black the perenial classic and Grammy nominated Nightmare Before Christmas, and other blockbuster films such as Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Sleepless in Seattle, Mission: Impossible, Lilo and Stitch, The Mummy Returns, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Sister Act, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

One of the most revered and innovative film composers of the 20th century, legendary Academy Award winning Jerry Goldsmith turned to Mark to orchestrate his final 6 films including Sum of All Fears, Star Trek: Nemesis, and Along Came a Spider. In addition Goldsmith used Mark to compose the final 7 minute action sequence for the Robert Redford film The Last Castle. He repeatedly called McKenzie "a god-send" / "one of my angels." Intrada Records has re-released the entire Goldsmith soundtrack to The Last Castle and it includes McKenzie's "Prison Uprising" composition.

Mark is a board member of the Society of Composers & lyricists, a voting member of the Motion Picture Academy composer's branch, (Oscars) Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, (Emmy's) The Recording Academy, (Grammys) the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers and belongs to the Broadcast Music, Inc. Performing Rights Organization.

Other Work

Outside of film, McKenzie's original compositions have been used at the Olympics, the Academy Awards, Disney World, Wimbledon, the Crystal Cathedral, and Disneyland Paris. Mark McKenzie's concert work The Lion and the Mouse has been performed by The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Utah Symphony, Lexington Symphony Orchestra, The Bangor Symphony (Canada), the San Diego Symphony and The University of Wisconsin. McKenzie's Suite from "The Greatest Miracle" was performed live with choir and orchestra at World Youth Day with Pope Benedict the 16th attending. Mark's choral work "Gloria" for choir, orchestra and children's choir was premiered on the Hour of Power for its 2000th broadcast service and has gone on to receive repeated performances across the US.

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References
  1. Benedictus Deus (video). YouTube, 2013.
  2. Benedictus Deus (Hope; music; soloist: Thomas Delgado-Little) - Libera Official, 2017.
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