International performers return to Youngstown for intimate performance

A 6 p.m. concert will be held by musician composers Keely Mackey (cello with looping station and effects) and Max Buckholtz (violin) at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 110 Chestnut St., Youngstown, on Thursday, July 11.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $5 for seniors (over 65) and $10 for the general public. Some tickets will be reserved for cash sale at the door.

Mackey and Buckholtz are both 1990 graduates of Lewiston-Porter High School. Mackey grew up in Youngstown, and has lived in Albuquerque since 1994. Buckholtz grew up in Lewiston and resides in Ithaca.

Mackey’s classical cello studies began at age 9, which continued formally through undergraduate and graduate school. Since the age of 18, Mackey has been improvising, collaborating, performing and recording across multiple genres, including classical, jazz, soul, funk, progressive rock, and Kirtan. Exploring electric cello, and amplified looping cello with effects began five years ago. These combined experiences, over the past 37 years, have allowed Mackey to compose her own music. For the past year, she has been intensely composing, memorizing and recording music for her upcoming debut solo album, to be released later this year.

Buckholtz began his violin studies at the age of 3, and obtained a graduate degree in violin performance and orchestration from Ithaca College. Since 2011, he has been the director of Journey West, which is an educational program that chronicles the migration of melody through an interactive multimedia performance. Additionally, he is an arranger and publisher of string orchestra parts and scores focusing on music of varying cultures. Among other things, he has worked at Cornell University as accompanist, composer, music director and performer for the past 20 years.

He is returning from travels to Romania, while she will perform with her piano quartet in Vienna, Austria, in a few weeks.

Tickets are available by calling 505-382-5293 or visiting www.eventbrite.com/e/keely-mackey-cello-and-max-buckholtz-violin-tickets-64018909281.