Dr. Michael Mackey

 Year Hired: 2018

Universities attended, degree(s) obtained, and graduation year(s):
University of Pittsburgh, Ph.D. Music, 2017
Duquesne University, MM Piano Performance, 2009
Duquesne University, BS Music Education, 2003

Biography:
 Dr. Michael Mackey is the Director of Vocal Music and The Masque Drama Society at Central Catholic High School and contributes to the Blue Knights Jazz Ensemble as co-director and Campus Ministry as liturgical music director. His performing ensembles are held in high regard for their artistry, excitement, and rich sound. As the school’s premier vocal ensemble, the Chamber Singers represent the Central Catholic throughout the greater Pittsburgh region, including recent performances at Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland with the River City Brass Band and at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Dr. Mackey became the director of The Masque Drama Society in 2020, mounting large-scale fall and spring productions, including Guys and Dolls (2021), Me and My Girl (2022), and Les Misérables (2023), with students from Central Catholic and Oakland Catholic and an adult staff of theatre professionals from the Pittsburgh region.

 His professional appointments have been distinctly multi-disciplinary, with posts in vocal and instrumental music, musical theatre, jazz, and music theory at such institutions as the University of Pittsburgh, Point Park University, Robert Morris University, Penn State Greater Allegheny, and South Fayette High School. He has presented his research on various jazz topics at conferences both stateside and abroad, and his dissertation on Pittsburgh-born jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal has been cited in several academic sources. He is currently the Director of Music Ministries at Corpus Christi Parish in Bridgeville, PA, and continues to perform as a freelance musical theatre and jazz pianist in the area. He resides in the South Hills with his brilliant wife and three energetic children.