Jonathan B. McNair, Composer
Composers are, first, human beings.
“I am a husband, father of two, grandfather, and one who loves dogs (and other animals).
Kindness is a daily practice for me, along with expressing gratitude. Being in forests, and planting, tending, and watching flowers grow and bloom brings me joy. I enjoy conversations with people from nearly all walks of life. Compassion and mutual respect are important to me.
As a composer, I seek to communicate aspects of the human experience through sound. Sound moves as waves, and waves are a form of energy; thus, music is a type of energy. Creativity often seems to be a river of positive energy that we can connect with if we are open to it and then channel it.
Music is a web of relationships:
- of sound to silence;
- of sound to sound and moment to moment;
- of composer to performer, performer to performer;
- of music creators and interpreters to listeners;
- from listener to listener.”
On Jonathan’s Music
“Hopyard Overture by Jonathan McNair is a cleverly constructed, really rather powerful piece… There is tenderness here, and the Brno [Filharmonie] strings flourish in just those moments.”
Colin Clarke, Fanfare Magazine, 2018
of Having It Out with Melancholy, premiered in 2022:
”I cannot begin to express how moved I was by last night's program. Your composition and the performance were both stunning…It was so creative, and so spot-on in telling the story of melancholy and hopefulness in a musical form…just struck to hear something that felt so new, so original, and so needed for our moment in time.”
- Dr. Chyela Rowe, Arts Therapies Coordinator, Common Spirit at CHI Memorial, Chattanooga
Max the Dog helping Jonathan compose
“Huckleberry Finn in the Museum of Art is a delightful romp, abounding in special effects from both instruments…that capture the whimsy implied by the title.”
(John Story, Fanfare Magazine)
“...the idea of a playful boy spending an afternoon in an awesome artistic environment was effectively expressed in the music.”
(Wilma Salisbury, The Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Jonathan as an Educator
“As a teacher, I encourage students to cultivate and awaken their passion for music by partnering with them in a mutual experience where we all learn from one another. Music is primarily a communal experience, and can thus help to make connections between people.
In teaching music composition, my goal is to help students find their own creative “voice,” and to then help them develop their own concepts through guidance and questions on technique, extension of musical ideas, expressive possibilities, and pacing.”
"I wanted to write you a note to say thank you for all that you've done over the past two semesters. Your intentional decisions as an educator have turned you into someone I now see as a role model. The kind words and consideration you've given me throughout our time together have made me feel so seen and important when I thought I was invisible. I cannot thank you enough. You've had a tremendously positive impact on my life, and I feel so grateful to have learned from you...” Lauren Cardenas
Neapolitan Chords, Literally
Jonathan used ice cream to teach theory. Chocolate was ♭2, Strawberry was 6, Vanilla was 4—tasty, if not pedagogically sound.
Jonathan as a Collaborator
“I've had the pleasure of collaborating with Jonathan McNair on two significant occasions, first in a World War I centennial observation, and second in hosting a world-renowned baritone to campus. Guided by his passion for music and its instruction, he works tirelessly and meticulously. My appreciation for the written word has grown broader and deeper as a result of my working with Jonathan on these music-literature interdisciplinary projects.”
Dr. Aaron Shaheen, George C. Connor Professor of American Literature
Jonathan, alongside violinist Tami Lee Hughes and pianist Byron Burford-Phearse, after their performance of The Legacy Show, a program of music and poetry by Black composers and poets, at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 2018. This concert was sponsored by McNair’s Holmberg Professorship in American Music