Lyn McLain (April 17, 1928 – October 25, 2023) was an American music teacher and orchestra leader.

Early life and education

Lyn McLain was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on April 17, 1928. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in music theory and composition from

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

. McLain also completed additional graduate work at

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, and the

University of the District of Columbia The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1851 and is the only public university in the city. UDC is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall ...

. In 1956 he became a music teacher with the

DC Public Schools The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is the local public school system for the District of Columbia, in the United States. It is distinct from the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools (DCPCS), which governs public charter s ...

Career

In the fall of 1960, at the request of the DC Public Schools music department, he and his colleagues Marian Banner and Loran Stephenson, Sr., founded the

DC Youth Orchestra Program The DC Youth Orchestra Program (DCYOP) is an ensemble-based music education program in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1960 on the request of DC Public Schools to be the city's youth orchestra, DCYOP enrolls over 600 students ages 4–18 every year f ...

. The program grew from an initial 60-member orchestra with three volunteer teachers to a program that provides instrumental music lessons from beginning to advanced classes. Between the years of 1970 and 2006, McLain took the orchestras on more than 13 concert tours in over 19 countries, has performed for several Presidents and earned numerous awards for outstanding performances in places such as St. Moritz, Switzerland; Aberdeen, Scotland; Beijing, China; Moscow, Russia; and Athens, Greece. Lyn McLain retired from the Public Schools in 1993. Following his retirement, McLain served as music director for the organization until August 2004. After leaving the position of music director, he continued to conduct the Youth Orchestra, Junior Philharmonic, and Virtuosi groups until March 2006, when he retired for health reasons. In June 2006, McLain also retired from the organization's board of directors, where he had served as president for two years.

Death

Lyn McLain died on October 25, 2023, at the age of 95.

Honors

McLain received local, national, and international awards for music performances, music education and curriculum development from numerous government, social, and civic organizations as well as national and international media for providing opportunities for young musicians. McLain was profiled in the

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program Searching for Heroes in 1996."News shorts." Teaching Music 4.2 (1996): 16. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 25 Mar. 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLain, Lyn 1928 births 2023 deaths American male conductors (music) Cornell University alumni American music educators Ithaca College alumni University of the District of Columbia alumni Catholic University of America alumni 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians