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Glenn McClure is a composer and Arts Integration
Consultant. His compositions have enjoyed a wide
audience in the US. His acclaimed “Kyrie” from St.
Francis in the Americas: A Caribbean Mass was featured
at Carnegie Hall in New York City by the National Youth
Choir and at Lincoln Center by the Young People’s
Chorus of New York City. Glenn McClure’s main
compositional interest lies in the mixing of classical
music with ethnic music traditions. His work is
published by Earthsongs (www.earthsongsmus.com)
of Corvallis, Oregon. Many of his compositions
have been born out of community initiatives and
collaborations. Glenn McClure is also a passionate
advocate for the integration of the Arts into the
education of children. He offers 500-600 concerts and
workshops annually that animate a variety of areas of
learning with hands-on musical activities. His award
winning work in designing and implementing these
programs in both mainstream and special education
environments continues to gain the attention. To
learn more about Glenn McClure’s work, check out his
web site at www.artforbrains.com.
Glenn McClure _Composer, Arts Integration Consultant,
Performer Box 293, Geneseo, NY 14454 tel: 585.243.0324
fax: 585.243.1232 glenn@artforbrains.com,
www.artforbrains.com
Dec 2,2002
Another day of balancing current programs with
proposals for future work. I am dropping a commission
proposal in the mail today to the Amercian Composers
Forum. I regularly search for grants opportunities and,
all too often, I discover them only days before the
deadline. I was able to turn this application around
quickly because of the grant writing system we have in
my office. I normally have to concentrate on the grant
narrative, so we have some files filled with support
materials. Since most grants need similar materials
(resumes. bios, work samples, press clippings, program
evaluations, Arts lesson plans, etc.)we keep a large
supply on hand. I have several versions of my resume
already set up to fit the relatively predictable
catagories of information needed by most grants. I also
keep a list of generic recommendation letter written by
trusted colleagues that can be quickly inserted into an
application if there is not enough time to get a
tailored letter written. With this completed, I am
returning to work on my NYFA project. This year, the
Middle School of Mt. Morris, NY received an award for a
20 residency(we are currently about 10 days into the
residency). I am working with the 7th and 8th grade and
their Science Teacher Brian Lewis to explore rainforest
ecology. As students learn about the plants, animals,
nutrient cycles, etc. of the rainforest, they work with
me to create a new composition that reflects their
knowledge. Students are used to responding to curriculum
by writing essays, taking tests, or drawing visual
pictures. Since this is a musical composition project, I
lead the students through the process of describing the
rainforest with sound. They have chosen instruments from
the orchestra to represent the plants, animals, etc. of
the rainforest. The motion of these sounds reflects the
relationships between these members of the rainforest
ecosystem. The final piece will be performed in May 2003
by the Buffalo Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the Mt.
Morris Middle School Steel Drum Band. This project
has been one of the best projects of my 14 years in the
field of Arts Integration. The team teaching with Brian
Lewis has been very exciting. This project is the most
sophisticated effort of 4 years of working with this
teaching team. By continually building our program, my
artist residencies have become a regular part of the Mt.
Morris School culture. The students have done an
excellent job in describing the rainforest with sound.
The overall outline that emerged from the first
residency day included a four-part Cuban drumming
pattern that represents the four layers of the
rainforest. After identifying this rhythm, one student
suggested that we give this rhythm to the string section
of the orchestra. Since strings usually play
lyrical/melodic gestures, the student thought that a
great deal of interest could be generated by giving the
strings a "hot rhythmic pattern." The piece
gradually builds by adding on layer at a time. The
students wanted to make an artistic statement about
their concern and fear for the loss of rainforests to
human encroachment. Their idea was wonderful. Once the
whole orchestra is pulsating with this four part rhythm,
an abrasive, nasty, metallic sound is introduced to
represent the destruction of the rainforest by humans.
Every time this sound is played, one layer of the rhythm
is eliminated until the piece ends in stark silence.
This dramatic gesture will leave the audience stunned. I
am very proud of the ideas generated by the students. In
addition to this broad outline, there will be many
interesting details that will describe other elements of
rainforest ecology. Since the first draft of the piece
is done, I am beginning to meet with students in small
groups to edit this first draft. For more information on
the other projects that I am working on, see my web site
www.artforbrains.com
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