Madeleine Skye Ackley

Biography

I write musical stories. Whether that be for film, for musicals, or just for me, every single song or piece of music that I write has to have a narrative. I’ve told stories about wizards, wolf men, sailors in the afterlife, a group of misfit ants, and my own life. All the narratives and characters my music as brought to life, deepens my connection to the art I create.

I wrote my first song when I was two years old, called “Squeak it Down.” It was a simple little ditty that didn’t have much meaning to it, but it got people to dance, so I’d consider that a win. My formal musical training began with piano lessons when I was seven, and I became hooked. I started taking songwriting more seriously when I was 11 and released an EP at thirteen with songs, all detailing stories of my own life. As I continued to write, my stories became more and more complex. My second EP, “Don’t Bite,” released in 2018, features “Mr. Wolf Man,” a song about a completely original werewolf character, having been released from prison, going out to clubs with a friend. It also features my first original instrumental piece, a prog rock foray called, “The Wizards’ March.” It uses themes to detail the journeys of the wizards of Middle Earth.

Speaking of instrumentals, I discovered my love for film music at the age of 12 after watching “The Lord of the Rings.” I graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Film and Media Scoring with a minor in Musical Theater Writing from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in 2023. Getting to compose and conduct my own music to picture has been a greatly rewarding experience. This fall, I will continue my studies at BerkleeNYC this fall, pursuing a Master's of Arts in Creative Media and Technology, specializing in Writing and Design for Musical Theater.

I have been writing musicals for the past three years. My love for musicals began at the age of seven when I was in a production of "Grease Jr." and it hasn't stopped since. Since studying at Berklee, I declared the Musical Theater Writing minor, which has informed my career goals more than anything else. I composed the music for a short musical called "Ants! The Musical," with lyricist and bookwriter Charlotte Sessions. The opening number was performed at Berklee's Curtain Up! show in 2022. Since then, I have been writing an original musical called, "Mary Had a Lamb Tattoo," about a young woman, raised in a religious community, who gets a lamb tattoo when her beloved brother dies. I also have experience orchestrating for musical theater.