McLean, Barton (Keith)

McLean, Barton (Keith), American composer; b. Poughkeepsie, N.Y., April 8, 1938. He studied music education at the State Univ. of N.Y. at Potsdam (B.S., 1960), with Cowell at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. (M.M., 1965), and composition at Ind. Univ. in Bloomington (Mus.D., 1972). He taught at the State Univ. of N.Y. at Potsdam (1960–66). He then was head of theory and composition and director of the electronic music center at Ind. Univ. in South Bend (1969–76). After teaching and serving as director of the electronic music center at the Univ. of Tex. in Austin (1976–83), he taught and was co-director at the I-Ear Studios at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst. (1987–89). In 1967 he married Priscilla McLean; together they toured in the U.S. and abroad as the McLean Mix electroacoustic music duo. McLean received NEA fellowships (1976, 1982), MacDowell Colony fellowships (1979, 1981, 1983, 1985), a N.Y. Foundation for the Arts fellowship (1986), Asian Cultural Council grants (1990, 1994), and Virgil Thomas Foundation grants (1996, 1999). Most of his compositional efforts have been devoted to electronic and computer music.

Works

orch.: Metamorphosis (1972); Rainforest Reflections for McLean Mix Duo and Orch. (Chico, Calif., March 6, 1993). chamber: Ritual of the Dawn for 6 Players (1982); Pathways for Symphonic Winds (1983); From the Good Earth,“foot-stompin’ homage to Bartók” for String Quartet (1985). vocal:3 Songs on Sandburg Poems for Voice and Piano (1970). tape and electronics:The Sorcerer Revisited for Tape (1975); Mysteries from the Ancient Nahuatl for Soloists, Chorus, Narrator, Instrumentalists, and Tape (1978); Etunytude for Computer (1982); In Wilderness Is the Preservation of the World: Voices of the Wild, Passages of the Night, electronic piece (1985); Voices of the Wild: Primal Spirits for McLean Mix Synthesizer, Soloists, and Orch. (1987; Troy, N.Y, Feb. 26, 1988); Earth Music, improvisation installation-performance computer piece (1988); Visions of a Summer Night for Computer (1988); Rainforest, environmental audience-interactive quasi-installation computer piece (1989); Himalayan Fantasy for Tape (1992); Happy Days for 2 Performers Using Music Boxes, Party Instruments, “Happy Apple,” and Flexatones (1996); Jambori Rimba for Soprano, Woodwinds, Percussion, Tape, and Video (Sarawak, Malaysia, Nov. 1996; in collaboration with P. McLean). other:Rainforest Images, audio piece (Cincinnati, Feb. 24, 1993; in collaboration with P. McLean); Forgotten Shadows, musical-historical installation (1994).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire