Jonathan B. McNair
Composer
Educator
Collaborator
“… immensely rewarding music,
well worth repeated hearings.”
-Fanfare Magazine
About Jonathan
Jonathan B. McNair’s music has been described by critics as being “…skillfully crafted…expressive and rhythmic…” His works have been performed across the United States and Puerto Rico in national and regional conferences, as well as festivals such as “Oh My Ears” and “TUTTI.” International performances have occurred in Canada, Brazil, Austria, England, France, and Germany. Soloists and ensembles performing his works include pianist Max Lifchitz, violinists Sarah Whitney, Holly Mulcahy, Sarah Off, and Corinne Stillwell; the Marian Anderson String Quartet; the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Knox-Galesburg Symphony, members of the Cleveland Orchestra, members of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Alexander-Soares Duo, Spivey Hall Children's Choir, Myriad Ensemble, and many others.
Recordings of Jonathan’s music have been streamed nationally and internationally, and released by North/South Consonance, the Capstone label of Parma Records, AUR, ACA Digital, and Ablaze Records.
News
Face to Face
The Marian Anderson String Quartet completed a three-day residency at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in early November, bringing their concert-length interdisciplinary work, Face to Face, by Jonathan McNair, to campus. Commissioned by the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice at Brown University, the piece combined music for string quartet with theatrical lighting, costume changes, and projected imagery.
During the residency, the quartet—celebrated as the first African American ensemble to win a major classical music competition—engaged directly with UTC students and the Chattanooga community. Their visit included class meetings with Music and Africana Studies students as well as an outreach visit to a local high school.
The residency culminated in a free public performance in Cadek Recital Hall on November 7. The program featured works by UTC Ruth S. Holmberg Professor of American Music Jonathan McNair, who noted that the ensemble’s presence brought both artistic excellence and meaningful student interaction to campus. McNair’s contributions included pieces with narration and communal singing, offering a rare moment of shared vocal participation in an academic setting.
Audience response echoed the ensemble’s national reputation for powerful, community-centered performances. One attendee reflected on how deeply moving the program was, particularly the interweaving of spirituals and the shared singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
About the Marian Anderson String Quartet
Formed in 1991, the Marian Anderson String Quartet has earned major national recognition, including first prize at the International Cleveland Quartet Competition, the Congress of Racial Equality Martin Luther King Award for Excellence in Arts and Culture, and the Chamber Music America Guarneri String Quartet Award. The ensemble has performed at venues such as Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center inaugural celebration, the Library of Congress and the National Gallery of Art, while also maintaining a long-standing commitment to education and outreach in communities across the United States.
Casting a Line
A recording and private premiere performance of Casting a Line for cello and piano took place in 2024, a recent work composed in response to a listener challenge voiced on air during the Spring of 2024. The piece was commissioned as a benefit for WUTC-FM by donors David and Brenda Binder, in memory of Dr. Samuel Binder, a beloved Chattanooga physician and passionate amateur cellist. Dr. Binder was also an avid collector of visual art and had a deep love for deep-sea fishing.
Upcoming Projects
Reclamation Space is a collaboration with the acclaimed Unheard-of//Ensemble, Ford Forqurean, director. The subjects of Reclamation Space are two public parks in Chattanooga that were once unfit for human use due to pollution and toxins: Enterprise South Nature Park and Sculpture Fields at Montague Park. The former features miles of hiking trails through second-growth forests, and the latter is an international outdoor gallery curated by the late sculptor John Henry. This multimedia project will feature video based on scenes in the parks along with live music and sounds recorded inside one of the TNT storage bunkers found in the Nature Park. Historical perspectives will also be included.
O Captain! My Captain! A new setting of the Walt Whitman lament for Pres. Abraham Lincoln after Lincoln’s assassination. The poem depicts Lincoln as the captain of a ship that has gone through a very difficult voyage and returned home intact to a cheering crowd. But the captain is dead and cannot hear the cheers and the bells ringing. The ship is a metaphor for the US “Ship of State,” and the perilous journey was the War between the States. SATB chorus, acoustic guitar, and string quintet or small string orchestra.