sentences:  George Frederick McKay was the first graduate in composition studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., in 1923, where he studied under Christian Sinding and Selim Palmgren.McKay attributed his appreciation of pure melody and the importance of folk culture to his association with Sinding, with whom he corresponded over several decades until Sinding's death.McKay later authored a poignant article concerning Sinding's time in America for "Etude Magazine" (November 1944 issue).