“I believe that all art is a product of that society in which it exists, and our society has become much more conservative over the last number of years,” McKenney suggests. During the 1960s and ‘70s, America was experiencing social upheaval. “You had some composers who were using mathematical processes to write pieces and everything was intellectually conceived.” At the other extreme were composers who didn’t notate anything but geometric shapes. It was in this period of great experimentation that electronic music began to take hold. “Music is more tonally conceived now,” McKenney observes, and less experimental than it used to be.

“There’s nothing quite like the high of hearing one of your own pieces played,” McKenney admits, “but to me the most important thing is the active, creative process itself.” While he seeks to try to write the best music he can, McKenney believes his teacher’s advice that music needs to balance emotion and intellect. If you have too much of either, “things get out of whack.” Furthermore, “there should be a communication process in all art,” McKenney adds, an interactive process between composer, performers, and the audience. If one part fails, it negatively impacts the process.