Blog: New Contemporary Music

A weekly blog by John Macdonald
Welcome to the first blog of New Contemporary Music.
I first worked as a "office slave" then as a diehard in an office in Sydney. From then i studied for my teaching diploma and became a primary teacher for many years. I was then promoted to the position of a  deputy principal.
Later on I became a principal of two schools in Western Australia.
I attended as an out student at Sydney Conservatorium of Music.  In my early years. I studied piano, harmony and composition as well as singing.
During this period I successfully conducted school choirs.I also sat as a theory student for an AMEB examination. Previously I had studied music theory at high school and enjoyed singing in several choirs.
My first undertaking in composition were  pieces of music began in the 1950's while a fairly young student at school. I first began taking piano lessons in 1954 and then in 1959 dad bought me a German piano and then in 1960 dad bought me a Verdik tape recorder.
Since that time I have composed many hundreds of pieces of original music, first for the piano and now on the keyboard. Tracks today are often accompanied by many different instruments and orchestral effects.
I first listened to the classics with my father on the radio. Dad would tune into the Saturday night concerts after i had had a bath in a bathtub along or after my brother. it was here that I first learnt about Beethoven, Handel, Mozart, Chopin and many of the other greats of classical music.
Further on my musical experiences were broadened through dad taking us to concerts to hear famous pianists of the day. This was further developed by listening to the radio followed by television and in more recent times the internet.
Lately i have been involved in recording and editing my musical compositions.
My favourite  genres for composition are classical. light classical, easy listening, Celtic, and worship music. i have performed as a baritone/bass in the choir section of Handel's Messiah and been enthralled by many marvellous orchestral renditions of well known music such as Beethoven Symphonies in concert halls in Australia.
I thank God for being able to appreciate such a variety and wealth of music as well as being able to compose and perform such wonderful music.
Bye for now,
John Macdonald