Stephen Mackey (1956) began his musical career as an electric guitarist in various rock bands. His pop-orientated roots can clearly be heard in his much-discussed concert music from the 1980s and 1990s. Since then he has been widely regarded as one of the leading composers of his generation. His oeuvre ranges from opera and orchestral music to chamber repertoires and dance music and has often been recorded. His CDs Dreamhouse (2010) and Lonely Motel: Music From Slide (2011) were each nominated for four Grammy Awards. Mackey’s work is played throughout the world by leading companies like the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in the Netherlands. As a guitarist he’s performed his own work with the Kronos Quartet, the Arditti Quartet and London Sinfonietta. His monodrama Ravenshead has been performed more than a hundred times to date. Among Mackey’s recent works are One Red Rose, for the Brentano String Quartet, Stumble to Grace (a piano concerto for Orli Shaham), Tonic (for the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia) and Mnemosyne’s Pool (a large-scale work for the Los Angeles Philharmonic). Mackey’s music has regularly received awards, including a Grammy, a Guggenheim grant and a Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Centre. He is also been composer in residence at leading festivals such as the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music, the Aspen Music Festival and the Holland Festival.