From blues and punk to rock and roll, Arthur White has at one point in his life played in nearly every kind of band, but now he believes he has finally found “the perfect gig.” As the director of MU’s Jazz Performance Studies program and Assistant Professor in the School of Music, White now handles all things jazz at MU.

The nature of McKenney’s work ranges from dissonant, angular pieces that could be featured in science-fiction films to beautiful, balanced choral pieces intended to be sung in church. “The vocabulary that I use for a particular composition will depend upon the genre I am writing for.” He is often commissioned to compose something for a particular instrumentation, such as orchestra, symphonic wind ensemble, woodwind quintet, marimba and electronics, choir, or brass and percussion.