These are unsolicited emails received from our sponsors after our new 2008 McLean Mix tour:
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Northern Illinois University,Dekalb, IL, 4/7/08. Concert, NATURAL ENERGY:
"Your visit here was indeed a rich one! I can assure you that you and your work had a strong impact on my students. It was great having you here and our little impromptu get-together was so nice! Often that just doesn't happen due to time ... this semester, as you know, has been the most trying ever owing to the catastrophic shooting incident back in Feb. We even had another guest scheduled right at that time and .... of course .... that was canceled. Your and Priscilla's soothing, peaceful artistic touch of beauty (natural energy indeed) was an especially poignant "potion" for our community. Can't thank you enough for that!"
...Jim Phelps, Director, Computer Music, Media Tech Lab, Prof of Composition
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Truman state University, Kirksville, MO, April 2 - 4, 2008. Residency with "RAINFOREST" installation and NATURAL ENERGY concert:
"Thank you so much for coming to Truman State and conducting a wonderfully fruitful three-day residency with us the past week. All of the events were outstanding, and I received many highly enthusiastic comments from my theory and composition students. You have enriched our campus community in many ways, and we sincerely appreciate what you shared with us. I hope the rest of your tour is equally successful and that you have safe travels along the way."
..Warren Gooch, Professor of Composition
"Thanks for doing a beautiful job with the residency and for being so flexible. I thought everything turned out very well indeed. I was pleased that the sound and the projection equipment and the hall all worked well together. I've been to many "hand-on" museums and I have seen nothing as engaging or meaningful or wonderful (in the true sense of the word--inspiring or evoking wonder). As for the concert, I thought it went very well and I enjoyed all the pieces. My fellow composers, Warren and Brad, had very positive things to say, as did the students we talked to. Good luck on the rest of your tour."
...Robert Martin, Professor of Education
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Bradley University, Peoria, IL, 4/17/08, concert, NATURAL ENERGY
"The concert was a huge highlight for us, and I'm very glad that you were pleased with your stay here. I hope we'll be able to have you back in a few years. Your two visits have been really successful and inspiring for our students."
...Steve Heinemann, Professor, Composition, Conducting, Woodwinds
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Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, March 28, 2008. Concert, NATURAL ENERGY
"I was delighted that you were able to be here and had a lot of positive reaction to your performance."
..Eric Ziolek, Chair, Dept. of Music
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Concert "MILLing in the ENNIUM" at SUNY, New Paltz, March 1, 2005
"Dear Mr. & Mrs. McLean:
I'd like to thank you for your performance at SUNY New Paltz on March 1. The performance was received with great admiration, and it is certainly one of the best concerts we have ever had.
Your lecture/demonstration to my Computer/Electronic Music class before the concert was a perfect combination of an introduction to MAX/MSP and the music created by the software. The students enjoyed it tremendously.
I am very impressed by your professionalism and perfectionism. It was a great pleasure to work with you. I hope the McLEAN MIX will perform again in New Paltz in the future.
Sincerely Yours,
Ping Jin, Director, Music Theory and Composition Program"
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Residency and Concert "MILLing in the ENNIUM" at Univ. of Miama, Coral Gables, on March 10, 2005:
"The McLean's performance of their work "MILLing in the ENNIUM" was captivating to all of the senses. Their fresh and original musical personalities came through with brilliance, and it was apparent how much they enjoyed what they were doing. The audio-visual portions of the performance were engaging and presented a mysterious and yet very inviting element. Their dedication to composition, performance, and expression were nothing short of inspiring.
--- Steve Danyew, President, Student Chapter (who sponsored McLeans) of SCI at Univ of Miami, Coral Gables
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Concert "MILLing in the ENNIUM" at Cleveland State University, March 22, 2004
"Dear Bart and Priscilla,
Thank you for a fantastic concert on March 22. The music and accompanying visuals were incredibly satisfying. The multi-media works communicate in very profound ways and engage the intellect about pertinent issues. Your imaginative and expressive work reaches audiences on may levels and cannot fail to leave audiences with a sense of what it means to create something new. Your performances are so much a part of who you are that it is clear that your art does not exist apart from your lives. This was a very special evening.
Sincerely,
Eric Ziolek, Chair, Department of Music, Cleveland State University"
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SUNY-Geneseo, at the Society of Composers Inc. Conference, April 10, 2004:
"I just viewed your Autumn Requiem -- very, very powerful! Haunting!!! ... but a part of me feels that after seeing/hearing Autumn Requiem everything else might just pale in comparison (and it is human nature to compare)." Comments by the conference director prior to its being programmed at the conference.
---Anneliese Weibel, SUNY Professor, SCI Conference Director
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Audience-interactive installation "Rainforest" and concert "MILLing in the ENNIUM in a residency at Radford University, Radford, VA., March 5-6, 2003.
"It was a pleasure having you perform at Radford. Students found the installation inviting and provocative. It inspired active class discussions and set the stage for a motivated audience at the concert the following day. Live electronic music at its best."
---Prof. Bruce Mahin, Director, Music and Technology Program at Radford
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Concert "MILLing in the ENNIUM," University of Louisville, March, 2002
"Our students and the general public alike were absolutely entranced by your performance here. The "buzz" continued for days, and I still get an occasional comment about it, even after all this time."
---Marc Satterwhite, Professor of Music, University of Louisville
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Audience-interactive installation "Rainforest," Webster University, St. Louis, MO, March, 2002:
"During the Spring of 2002, the Webster University Department of Music hosted the McLean Mix for an residency that included lectures, demonstrations and an interactive electro-acoustic installation, "Rainforest." This was the duo's first visit to Webster and the consensus from our students was "WOW, WHEN ARE THEY COMING BACK?" For
many of our students it was their first experience with improvisation with visual and electronic elements. The ongoing "playback" provides performers with many sonic possibilities, which is coupled with live sound modification effects. The McLeans guided our novice improvisers in breaking through their self-conciousness. For our advancedimprovisers (many of whom were jazz improvisors), interacting with "Rainforest" stretched their abilities as they moved into new levels of expression. "Rainforest" is a unique installation unlike any other which I have seen. It is a major advancement over many multi-media projects. It creates a warm and inviting visual and sonic environment which is suitable for listening and viewing as well as the hoped for improvisatory interaction. I highly recommend the McLean Mix to the school that is looking for a fresh, creative, and energizing program to bring students and faculty into present tense improvisation!"
---Michael Parkinson, Chair, Music Dept., Webster University
"Priscilla and Barton McLean's Rainforest Installation was an engaging and stimulating presentation. In place for a day at Webster University, the Music Departmentís Recital Hall was transformed into a dark and mysterious, but inviting environment. Faculty and students interacted with this fascinating soundscape, either by singing or using acoustic and electronic instruments. Without a doubt, it captured the imagination of those who interacted with the installation. Sounds ranged from delightfully raucous collages to playfully delicate counterpoint."
---Robert Chamberlin, Prof, Music Dept., Webster University
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Concert "MILLing in the ENNIUM" at University of California-Santa Cruz, 2/24/03
"The most integrated media works I've ever seen. The visuals incorporate many novel and engaging techniques and the music is emotive, dynamic, and appropriately linked. A wonderful experience."
---David Cope, Professor, Department of Music, University of California, Santa CruzAuthor, "New Directions in Music," "New Music Notation," "The Algorithmic Composer," etc.
"I was certainly impressed with your show, especially the way you combine the best of old school and cutting edge techniques. I thought Priscilla's videos were lovely and matched the music in a much more elegant fashion than I usually see."
---Peter Elsea, Director, Electronic Music Studios, University of California, Santa Cruz
"Bringing the McLean Mix to our campus added a whole dimension to the concert series this season. It means a lot for students to experience this unusual model: composers putting together compelling performances of their own highly original work, branching out to incorporate other media such as video, and commanding an eclectic mix of old and new technologies. The McLeans make beautiful, powerful music."
---Paul Nauert , Assistant Professor of Music, University of California, Santa Cruz
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Concert "MILLing in the ENNIUM" at CNMAT, University of California -Berkeley, 2/25/03
"The music of the McLean Mix is authentic and is alive. The two composers have weathered the storms of self-invented art production to produce a fully realized music supported with sophisticated performance practice. The Mix is unlike any other musical duet that I have ever encountered. The McLean Mix is a "thing". The McLean thing understands itself -- is holistic and balanced within the constraints of its own aesthetic. They deserve to be heard and they
deserve to be supported. After so many years this group continues to search, continues to grow and continue to make engaging music. The Mix demonstrate that historical continuity and craft can be an integral part of new works that feature technology and multi-media."*
---Edmund Campion
* Prof. Campion further states that, pursuant to UC-Berkeley guidelines, the above is an assessment from Edmund Campion, the composer, and is not a specific recommendation from CNMAT or the Univ. of California or the Music Dept. at UC Berkeley, where he is Associate Professor and Composer in Residence.
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Concert "MILLING in the ENNIUM," California State University -Fresno, 2/22/03
"After twenty-four years of attending this concert series, Orpheus' loyal audience has learned that one cannot predict exactly what will happen on any given night. We have performed a 1,000 years of repertoire with an extraordinary variety of colors and textures. February 22, 2003 was no exception. Our guest artists, the McLean Mix augmented this tradition wonderfully. Priscilla and Bart's audio and visual compositions were exciting and the feedback to me from concertgoers at the reception after the concert was most positive. They were in turn intrigued, entertained, beguiled, and, most importantly, impressed with these novel works and were very happy that they came to Fresno."
---Jack Fortner, Professor of Composition, Cal State-Fresno; Artistic Director, Orpheus Chamber Ensemble
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Concert "MILLing in the ENNIUM," Missouri Western State College, March, 2002
"McLean MIX is a wonderful and most contemporary musical/visual experience. They've been at Missouri Western three times now and were always well received. They have fascinated audiences with their sensitive creations using the latest in computer music and visual technology. "MILLing in the ENNIUM" was a tour de force multimedia performance with a truly global message for the human race and our history."
---F. Matthew Gilmour, Chair, Dept. of Music, Missouri Western State College
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