David McKinney

Donald McKinney's life has been a series of sweet notes.

“It feels surreal,” said McKinney, a Butler County native. “This is the first award of this scale I've been nominated for.”

McKinney, 41, is up for a Grammy at the

61st Annual Grammy Awards for producing “John Williams At The Movies,” a CD recording project with the Dallas Winds, a professional concert band based in Dallas, Texas.McKinney graduated from Mars High School in 1995 and earned degrees from Duquesne University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate of musical arts in conducting from the University of Michigan.He currently lives in Boulder, Colo., where he is thedirector of bands and an associate professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder.“I know I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing if it weren't for music,” he said.Growing up in Butler County, music was a hobby to McKinney, he said, adding his mother, Nina Ziegler, was an amateur pianist. He said he returns to the area to visit his father, Bernard McKinney, in Valencia and his mother in Harmony during holidays.That hobby became his life, he said.McKinney's nomination is in the Best Classical Compendium category for “

John Williams At The Movies,” which was produced in 2016 and released in 2018 and features the film music of John Williams, an American composer, conductor and pianist, whose film scores include those for “Star Wars” and “Superman.”For nearly three days during the recording at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, McKinney listened backstage through headphones and gave feedback about the best recordings. After the recording, he would receive a first draft, listen and edit the product and provide more feedback about what could sound better.Years of practice and ear training are required to know music well, he said.McKinney gives equal credit to the group of 65 people, including musicians and the technical crew, and conductor Jerry Junkin because, as McKinney said, he is one piece of the puzzle who made the project come together.He will travel to California in February for the two-day Grammy Award ceremony.McKinney's musical journey started in the Seneca Valley School District, where he played clarinet. He transferred to Mars Middle School in the sixth grade where he played saxophone.Mars Middle School Band Director Michael Holupka and former Mars High School Band Director Charles Prijatelj, who is currently the Altoona school district superintendent, were sources of encouragement, McKinney said.“He didn't play notes, he played music. He put his soul into it,” said Holupka, who has been the Mars Middle School Band director for 36 years, about McKinney when he was a student. “He really played the music that was inside of him.”Holupka recalled a conducting clinic that he, McKinney and Prijatelj attended in 1994. When asked for volunteers, McKinney jumped at the opportunity to conduct the wind band during the clinic, Holupka said.“He went up there and did a remarkable job,” he said. “I'll always remember that day.”When Prijatelj, who was the Mars High School band director from 1983 to 2004, learned McKinney was nominated for a Grammy, he said he was not surprised because of McKinney's work ethic, desire and skill set.“McKinney grew from a sophomore squawking on his saxophone to a phenomenal musician,” Prijatelj said, adding McKinney was Prijatelj's assistant band director for the two years while McKinney was in college.“When he was in college and worked with my kids, it was astounding,” he said. “He's done things in 20 years that some conductors can't accomplish in a lifetime,”The work on “

John Williams At The Movies,” is more accessible for the average listener, McKinney said about the Grammy -nominated CD.“There's something for everyone to enjoy,” he said.Music is important because it builds community, McKinney said.“It gives a sense of healing, brings people together,” he said. “It's vitally important to society.”

- Before 2013, Donald McKinney was the director of wind ensembles and an associate professor at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.- From 2010 to 2015 he was the coordinator of bands for the Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, Mich.- As a guest conductor, he has appeared with the Dallas Wind Symphony, Concordia Santa Fe and numerous honor ensembles. He has also conducted concerts and clinics in Costa Rica and Canada.- As a teacher of conducting, he has presented conducting master classes at the University of Central Florida, Eastern Washington University and others.- His recording credits include projects with the Dallas Winds, University of Michigan Symphony Band and University of Texas Wind Ensemble.- He has published articles in numerous conducting resources including five volumes of Teaching Music through Performance in Band- He was named a finalist for the Thelma A. Robinson Award by the Conductors Guild.<b>SOURCE: Colorado State University</b>