EARL MACDONALD
Composer • Pianist • Arranger • Educator
Current Work
I am preparing the release of the debut recording by the Black Square Ensemble, a chamber ensemble featuring operatic bass-baritone, cello, piano, and percussion.
The work sets poetry and contemporary chamber music to explore civic and ecological questions.
The recording is complete. I am now mixing and mastering the album, writing the liner notes, and planning performances ahead of its release on February 19.
Explore the Black Square Ensemble project →
The Studio
The work happens here, away from the rush.
This is where fully notated works are developed slowly, through sustained attention to form, sound, and consequence.
A table. A piano. Paper marked, erased, and marked again.
Time slows enough to hear what’s actually being asked.
This is a practice of attention.
I’m in the midst of composing new music—built with sound shaped by space, and decisions made deliberately.
The focus now is clarity over quantity, intention over output.
This site is a partial window into that world: compositions, collaborations, teaching, and reflections in progress.
It’s not exhaustive. It’s not promotional. It’s a working document.
Enter quietly.
Engagements
My work extends beyond composition into collaborations with artists, institutions, and communities in settings where music meets education and civic inquiry.
- Artist-in-residence projects
- Commissioned composition and arranging
- Cross-disciplinary collaborations
- Performance projects and solo appearances
- Guest conducting (all-state and regional ensembles)
- Clinics and workshops
- Festival adjudication
- Educational residencies and summer programs
- Record production and creative consultation