Howard McCrary

Traversing the worlds of gospel and secular music, multi-talented Howard McCrary has built a solid reputation as an award-winning singer, songwriter, producer and musician whose resume includes some of the most prestigious and important artists in contemporary music. Howard McCrary brings a mix of artistry, enthusiasm, skill and positive energy to each and every project.

In 1974, Howard decided to exploring his talents as a writer, arranger and accompanist. He co-produced the album So Good and was nominated for a Grammy for “Best Gospel Performance, Male” for that record.

During the late 1980s, Howard traveled the world intermittently with different evangelists; in 1987, he was given ASCAP’s Duke Ellington Award for most promising writer in gospel music and was commissioned to write the piece Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow for the Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra.

As the 1980s ended and the 1990s began, Howard’s workload accelerated considerably: he was featured as a background vocalist on Quincy Jones’ best-selling Back on the Block, as well as arranging vocal parts for the song Keep the Faith on Michael Jackson’s 1992 multi-platinum set Dangerous. He began working with Chaka Khan in 1993 as keyboardist and musical director.

Later, he worked with Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer on the film The Power Of One. Howard's studio activities have included production work with teen idol Jennifer Love Hewitt, soul diva Sandra St. Victor, gospel great Helen Baylor and successful R&B group Changing Faces. For three years Howard has worked as a Vocal Stylist with the Legendary Seth Riggs.

Howard moved to Hong Kong in 2005 and merged into the local music scene quickly. Howard performed to a full house two evenings at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in his debut concert Peace and All That Jazz with full orchestra in 2013.

As both an entrepreneur, vocal coach and masterful musician, Howard McCrary has much to celebrate as he continues to find new ways to express his boundless artistry and make a contribution of love, compassion and goodwill to the world through his music.

遊走於福音與通俗音樂,多才多藝的侯活麥格尼是備受尊崇的得獎歌手、創作人、監製與樂手,曾合作藝人盡是當代音樂界名人。麥格尼過往的所有作品, 都是結合了藝術與熱忱、技術與正能量。

生於俄亥俄州揚斯敦，麥格尼在音樂中成長。在十兄弟姊妹之中，他與兩位兄弟及兩位姊妹組成 The McCrarys，以福音音樂出道。在七十年代初，合唱團已在美加各地演出，也為 Light Records 灌錄了首大碟《Sunshine Day》。

1974年，當家人決定合唱團的歌路要從福音轉到流行音樂，麥格尼決定作個人發展，也發掘出作為創作人、編曲人與伴奏的天份。他聯合監製的大碟《So Good》讓他獲得格林美獎「最佳福音演出（男歌手）」提名。八十年代末，麥格尼不時跟隨傳教士穿州過省，而在1987年，他因著出色的福音歌曲創作獲頒ASCAP艾靈頓公爵獎，也獲委約為布魯克林愛樂交響樂團創作《Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow》。

八十年代末至九十年代初，麥格尼的工作更見豐富：他在昆西鍾斯暢銷專輯《Back On the Block》擔任和音，也為米高積遜1992年的熱賣大碟《Dangerous》之中《Keep The Faith》一曲編寫合唱和音。1993年他開始為Chaka Khan擔任鍵盤手及音樂總監。之後，他與奧斯卡得主漢斯森瑪合作，在電影《情繫我心》配樂中演唱。麥格尼也參與了偶像歌手珍妮花露芺希域及 R&B 組合 Changing Faces 的唱片製作。他也曾與傳奇歌唱導師薛夫尼克斯共事三年。

2005年麥格尼移居香港，旋即投入本地樂壇。他在電影《傷城》、《六樓後座2》、《全球熱戀》參與配樂工作。2008年他與閻惠昌及香港中樂團在作首次全國性演出，隨後又為香港中樂團譜寫現代風格作品《水是生命》，也為青海政府的保護水資源及防旱正作將《Deep River》一曲改編成《Three Rivers》。2009年，他再度應邀前往青海參與「青海國際水與生命音樂之旅」，與著名男高音卡里拉斯及中國交響樂團合作《Hear My Plea》一曲。2013年，麥格尼首次在港舉行個人演唱會，香港文化中心的兩晚演出均告滿座。今晚他與香港中文大學合唱團再度在文化中心聯合演出。2014年，他將與香港中樂團首演他的首部鋼琴協奏曲《黑蝴蝶》。

麥格尼說：「音樂是我們共同擁有的普世主題，讓我們能夠從這歷久常新的昇華力量將我們連成一體的表達形式，也是我們歌頌生命及人文的禮物。」麥格尼認為，透過他的音樂及創作力，他能夠為人啟發出希望、和諧、慰藉、以及對世界和平的夢想。他希望透過音樂啟發他人以及分享每天冥想的好處，利用內心的和平引導出終極的世界和平。

作為企業家、歌唱導師及資深音樂人，麥格尼一直尋找新的方法，表達他無疆界的藝術精神，以音樂將愛、同情及和善帶到全世界。