Priscilla McLean (née Taylor; born May 27, 1942) is an American composer, performer, video artist, writer, and music reviewer.
Life Priscilla Taylor was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, the daughter of business manager Conrad Taylor and school teacher Grace Taylor. She graduated from Fitchburg State College, Massachusetts (BEd 1963) and the University of Massachusetts, Lowell (BME 1965). At Indiana University, Bloomington (MM 1969), she was greatly influenced by the music of Xenakis, who was teaching there. She has taught at Indiana University, Kokomo (1971–3), St. Mary's College, Notre Dame (1973–6), and the University of Hawaii (1985) and the University of Malaysia (1996). From 1976 to 1980 she produced the American Society of Composers' Radiofest series. In 1974 she and her husband, Barton McLean, began to perform together as The McLean Mix, and in 1983 to present concerts of their own music full-time. She sings with extended vocal techniques and plays the piano, synthesizer, violin, percussion, and Amerindian wooden flutes, as well as newly created instruments.New Grove Dictionary of Music 2nd edition, author Lesley A. Wright, editors Stanley Sadie and John Tyrell, 2004.
As The McLean Mix, the couple has performed throughout the United States and Europe, Southeast Asia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.Women Composers and Music Technology in the United States, Elizabeth Hinkle-Turner, author, ASHGATE Press, 2005, p. 62. The New Grove Dictionary of Music describes McLean's work as "[ranging] from abstract orchestral and chamber music to dramatic electro-acoustic works. Since 1978 most of her music has focused on the concept of the wilderness and has incorporated sounds from animals and nature along with synthesized music."
Awards National Endowment for the Arts Composer Grants National Endowment for the Arts Media Arts Grant Martha Baird Rockefeller Grant 1989 UNESCO International Composers Rostrum, for international broadcast of Voices of the Wild, Albany Symphony, Julius Hedgi, Conductor
Discography American Society of University Composers, Advance Recordings FGR-19S (LP), 1976 American Contemporary—Electronic Music, CRI SD 335 (LP), 1975 (Now available on New World Records) McLean: Electro-Symphonic Landscapes, Folkways Records (later Smithsonian) FTS 33450 (LP), 1979 Electronic Music from the Outside In, Folkways Records (later Smithsonian) FPX 36050 (LP), 1980 The McLean Mix—Electro-Surrealistic Landscapes, Opus One Records #96(LP), 1986 Variations and Mosaics on a Theme of Stravinsky, Louisville Orchestra First Edition Records, LS 762 (LP), 1979 Rainforest Images, Capstone Records (Parma) CPS-8617 CD, 1993 Gods, Demons, and the Earth, Capstone Records (Parma) CPS-8622 CD, 1995 The Electric Performer, Capstone Records (Parma) CPS-8637 CD, 1997 The McLean Mix & The Golden Age of Electronic Music, CRI (New World) CD 764, 1997 Vocal Music of Priscilla McLean, Capstone Records (Parma) CPS-8663 CD, 1999 Barton and Priscilla McLean—Electronic Landscapes, EM Records, Japan, EM 1059 CD, 2006 McLean Mix Live!, MLC Publications DVD, 2009 Priscilla McLean—Symphony of Seasons, MLC Publications DVD, 2009 The McLeans Mix Three, MLC Publications DVD, 2009 Cries and Echoes, MLC Publications DVD, 2011 Peter's People—Creating the Dream, MLC Publications DVD, 2012 Music From the Sounds of Earth, Centaur Records, Inc., CRC 3249 (CD), 2013
Selected works Rainer Maria Rilke Poems: Three Songs for Soprano Voice and Violin, 1967 Lighting Me as a Match for tenor voice, violin, horn, piano, percussion, 1968 Interplanes for two pianos, 1971 Night Images, electronic, 1973 Dance of Dawn, electronic, 1974 Variations and Mosaics on a Theme of Stravinsky for orchestra, 1975 Messages for chorus, four soloists, chamber ensemble, 1975 Ah-Syn! for autoharp processed through Arp 2600 synthesizer, 1976 Invisible Chariots, electronic, 1977 Fire & Ice for tenor/bass trombone and prepared piano, 1977 Beneath the Horizon I for processed whale songs and tuba quartet, 1978 Beneath the Horizon III for processed whale songs and solo tuba, 1979 Fantasies for Adults and Other Children, eight pieces for soprano, piano and two performers, 1980 The Inner Universe, five pieces for prepared piano and recorded sound 1982 O Beautiful Suburbia! for soprano voice, autoharp or zither, narrator, amplified bicycle wheel and recorded sound, 1984 A Magic Dwells for orchestra and recorded sound, 1986 Elan! A Dance to all Rising Things from the Earth for flute, violin, violoncello, piano, and percussion, 1984 Invocation for hybrid clarinet and soprano recorders, chorus, percussion, amplified bicycle wheel, and recorded sound, 1985 On Wings of Song for soprano voice, amplified bicycle wheel, and recorded sound, 1985 Wilderness for soprano voice, chamber ensemble, and recorded sound, 1988 In Celebration for chorus, piano, percussion, and recorded sound, 1988 Rainforest, collaborative installation with Barton McLean for five performance stations, digital processing, recorded sound, and slides/video, 1989 Voices of the Wild for symphony orchestra and recorded sound, 1989, rev. 2011 The Dance of Shiva, electronic, with fade and dissolve slides/video, 1990 Wilderness for soprano voice, flexatone, and recorded sound, 1990 Flight Beyond, electronic, 1990 Everything Awakening Alert and Joyful! for narrator and orchestra, 1992 Sage Songs About Life! (and Thyme...) for soprano voice and piano, 1992 Rainforest Images, collaboration with Barton McLean, electronic, 1993 Where the Wild Geese Go for B♭ clarinet and recorded sound, 1994 Rainforest Images II, collaboration with Barton McLean and Hasnul Jamal Saidon, music and video, 1994 In the Beginning for soprano voice, digital and video processors, recorded sounds, 1995 Jambori Rimba, collaboration with Barton Mclean for soprano voice, processors, soprano recorder, percussion, recorded sound, and video by Hasnul Jamal Saidon, 2000 Jambori Rimba, collaborative installation with Barton McLean and Hasnul Jamal Saidon for five electroacoustic stations, recorded sound, video, slides, and dance, 1997 Desert Spring, collaborative installation with Barton McLean for five electroacoustic stations, recorded sound, American desert slides, 1997 Desert Voices for Zeta midi violin, digital processor, and recorded sound, 1999 The Ultimate Symphonius 2000, collaborative installation with Barton McLean for eight electroacoustic stations, recorded sound, video, slides, and dance, 2000 Angels of Delirium, electronic, 2001 Symphony of Seasons: Jewels of January and The Eye of Spring, electronic music and video, 2001 MILLing in the ENNIUM, electronic music, Barton McLean, and video, Priscilla McLean, 2001 Symphony of Seasons: Autumn Requiem, collaboration with Barton McLean for electroacoustic music ensemble and video by Priscilla McLean, 2002 Symphony of Seasons: July Dance, electronic music and video, 2003 Xaakalawe/Flowing, electronic music and video, 2004 Snowburst Songs: Four Haiku for Winter for soprano voice and piano, 2004 Cyberlament, electronic music, 2005 Caverns of Darkness, Rings of Light for solo tuba, recorded tubas, and video, 2007 Natural Energy, music collaboration with Barton McLean for electroacoustic music ensemble, and video by Priscilla McLean, 2008 Cries and Echoes for solo violoncello, recorded celli, and video, 2009 The International Who's Who in Classical Music, 2012 Peter's People: Creating the Dream, collaboration with Barton McLean, video featuring interviewed artists and original music, 2012 Pilgrimage, electronic music, 2015 Songs of Radiance: Softly the Morning's Radiance, There Was a Time, and Time is But the Stream, electroacoustic music, 2016 Caribbean Fantasy, electroacoustic music, 2019 Ghost Voices, electroacoustic music, 2020 Ruckus, electroacoustic music, 2021 Quarantined!, electroacoustic music, 2022
Books and films Hanging Off the Edge— Revelations of a Modern Troubadour, memoir by Priscilla McLean, 279 pp, iUniverse, 2006. Peter's People— Creating the Dream, Priscilla and Barton McLean, film directors, 2012.
References
External links
New Music Box interview Capstone Records web link for McLeans