Lena J. McLin

Lena Johnson McLin (born September 5, 1928), native of Atlanta, Georgia, was exposed to music at an early age. Her mother served as the Music Director at the Greater Mount Calvary Baptist Church, and her father was the pastor there. During this period, young McLin worked under her mother assisting with worship services directing, composing, and playing piano. Her mother also exposed her to classical music through symphony concerts and operas. Her education furthered while living with her uncle, and “father of gospel,” Thomas A. Dorsey in Chicago. She watched him compose and she herself accompanied acclaimed singers such as Mahalia Jackson and Sallie Martin in his home. McLin received a bachelor’s degree in music from Spelman College in 1951 before relocating to Chicago, and a graduate degree from the American Conservatory of Music. She is also well known as a music educator in the Chicago Public System. She taught there for 36 years and developed a music-major curriculum. She is known as a major influence in well-known artists today in many genres such as R. Kelly, Da Brat, Chaka Khan, Jennifer Hudson, Metropolitan Opera star Mark Rucker who made a recording of her published art songs, Robert Sims, and Tammy McMann. This long list of mentees has given her the title of “the woman who launched a thousand careers.” Outside of the school system, she also founded the McLin Opera Company and McLin Singers, a gospel group she directed, produced a film The Origin of the Spiritual, and wrote a textbook entitled Pulse: A History of Music.  In 1981, she founded the Holy Vessel Christian Center and was ordained as a pastor. As a composer, her catalogue comprises over 400 compositions including art songs, choral music, opera, and instrumental works. Her style mirrors her varied education and ranges from classical to gospel, and also includes rock and popular styles. McLin also expresses social activism in several of her pieces such as her cantatas, Free At Last: A Portrait of Martin Luther King Jr., and Gwendolyn Brooks: A Musical Portrait. Rev. Dr. McLin continues to teach students privately and has received numerous awards and honorary degrees for her extended work as a composer and educator.

–Tyrese Byrd

This profile was created in 2021 as part of The Savvy Singer, an EXCEL Lab course at the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance and a collaboration with the Hampsong Foundation via the Classic Song Research Initiative.

Kalil, Timothy M. “International Dictionary of Black Composers.” Book. Chicago ; London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1999.

Newland, Marti K. “McLin, Lena.” Oxford African American Studies Center. 31 May. 2013; Accessed 22 Sep. 2021.