James MacMillan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sir James MacMillan CBE TOSD
MacMillan at the 2012 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
Born	(1959-07-16) 16 July 1959 (age 65) Kilwinning, Scotland
Education	University of Edinburgh
Occupation	Conductor Composer
Organization	BBC Philharmonic
Awards	British Composer Award Knight Bachelor

Sir James Loy MacMillan (born 16 July 1959) is a famous Scottish classical composer and conductor. He writes music for orchestras, choirs, and solo instruments. He is known for his powerful and emotional pieces.

Early Life and Education

James MacMillan was born in Kilwinning, Scotland. He grew up in the town of Cumnock until he was 18 years old. His father was a carpenter, and his mother was Ellen MacMillan.

He loved music and studied how to compose it at the University of Edinburgh. He also earned a special PhD degree from Durham University in 1987. After finishing his studies, MacMillan went back to Scotland. He started writing a lot of music and became a special composer for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He also worked on projects to teach music to others. When he was young, he was briefly involved with a political youth group.

Becoming a Famous Composer

James MacMillan became well-known in the classical music world in 1990. This happened when the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra performed his piece The Confession of Isobel Gowdie. This performance was at the famous BBC Proms festival.

The Confession of Isobel Gowdie

The music remembers Isobel Gowdie, a woman who was accused of witchcraft in Scotland long ago. Many women were treated unfairly and executed during that time. MacMillan wrote this music to show kindness and understanding to Isobel Gowdie. He wanted to give her the respect she didn't receive in her lifetime.

Important Music Pieces

Because of the success of Isobel Gowdie, MacMillan received many requests to write more music.

• He wrote a special piece for the famous percussionist Evelyn Glennie. This piece was called Veni, Veni, Emmanuel. It was first performed in 1992 and is now one of his most popular works.
• The famous cellist Mstislav Rostropovich asked MacMillan to write a Cello Concerto. Rostropovich himself performed it for the first time in 1997.

Later Achievements

MacMillan continued to create important works.

• His second opera, The Sacrifice, won a Royal Philharmonic Society Award in 2007.
• He wrote the St John Passion, a large musical work, which was first performed in 2008.
• In 2008, he won a British Composer Award for his church music, called Strathclyde Motets.
• In 2019, The Guardian newspaper said his Stabat Mater was one of the greatest pieces of art music since the year 2000.
• In 2024, he was honored by The Ivors Academy for his contributions to music.

Musical Influences and Beliefs

MacMillan's music often shows his deep spiritual beliefs and his interest in social issues.

• His Catholic faith has inspired many of his sacred (religious) music pieces. For example, he has written a Magnificat and several masses.
• In 2005, the BBC Symphony Orchestra presented a series of his works called From Darkness into Light. This showed how important his faith is to his music.
• MacMillan and his wife are part of a Catholic group called the Dominicans. He has also worked with other Catholic artists and thinkers.
• One of his most political pieces is Cantos Sagrados (1990). This music uses poems from Latin America that talk about social justice. MacMillan said he wrote it to show support for people facing hardship.

Scottish Heritage

Scottish traditional music has also greatly influenced his work. You can often hear Scottish sounds in his compositions.

• When the Scottish Parliament started again in 1999 after many years, a special piece of music by MacMillan played as Elizabeth II entered the building.
• He also spoke out against unfair treatment of different religious groups in Scotland.

Music for Everyone

MacMillan has also written music that is easy for church congregations to sing.

• His Mass of 2000 was written for Westminster Cathedral and includes parts for the audience to join in.
• The St Anne's Mass and Galloway Mass are also designed to be sung by people who are not professional musicians.
• In 2010, he wrote a new mass setting for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Great Britain. This music was sung at large church services in Glasgow and Birmingham. He also wrote a special piece called Tu es Petrus for the Pope's entry at Westminster Cathedral.

In 2020–2021, MacMillan hosted a radio show called Faith in Music. In it, he explored how religious faith influenced the music of other famous composers.

Working with Others and Honors

James MacMillan has worked with many orchestras and musicians.

• He was a composer and conductor with the BBC Philharmonic from 2000 to 2009.
• After that, he became a main guest conductor for the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic.
• His opera The Sacrifice was based on old Welsh stories. It was first performed by the Welsh National Opera in 2007.

He has received many honors for his work.

• He is an honorary member of Blackfriars Hall at the University of Oxford.
• He is also a professor at St Mary's College, St Andrews.
• He supports several music schools and groups, helping young musicians.
• He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2004.
• In 2015, he was given the title of Knight Bachelor, which means he is now called "Sir James MacMillan."
• In 2008, he became a patron of the London Chamber Orchestra's "LCO New: Explore" project. This project helps new composers and connects music with other art forms.

Family Life

James MacMillan married Lynne Frew in 1983. They have two daughters and a son. They also had a granddaughter, Sara Maria, who had a rare condition called Dandy–Walker syndrome.

Some of His Key Works

Here are some of James MacMillan's most important musical compositions:

• After the Tryst (for violin and piano – 1988)
• Cantos Sagrados (for choir and organ – 1989)
• The Confession of Isobel Gowdie (for orchestra – 1990)
• Veni, Veni, Emmanuel (a concerto for percussion and orchestra – 1992)
• Seven Last Words from the Cross (a cantata for choir and strings – 1993)
• Inés de Castro (an opera – 1991–95)
• Cello Concerto (1996)
• The World's Ransoming (for cor anglais and orchestra – 1996)
• Symphony: Vigil (1997)
• Quickening (for solo singers, chorus, and orchestra – 1998)
• Mass (for choir and organ – 2000)
• Symphony No. 3 "Silence" (2002)
• A Scotch Bestiary (for organ and orchestra – 2004)
• The Sacrifice (an opera – 2007)
• St John Passion (2008)
• Piano Concerto No. 3 "The Mysteries of Light" (2008)
• Miserere (for mixed choir without instruments – 2009)
• Violin Concerto No. 1 (2009)
• St Luke Passion (2013)
• Symphony No. 4 (2015)
• Stabat Mater (2015)
• A European Requiem (2015)
• Symphony No. 5 "Le grand Inconnu" (2018)
• A Christmas Oratorio (2021)
• "Who shall separate us?", an anthem for the state funeral of Elizabeth II (2022)