Ep. 56 - Transcending the Limitations of Art Music - Michael McGlynn

"My entire philosophy of choral music is that of all forms of music it is the one that has the capacity to produce a state of transcendence, and as a composer that is my primary function. Bear in mind, I don't write music for choirs; I write music for people. If you perform the music correctly, it can open a gateway, a higher state of consciousness."Born in 1964 in Dublin, Ireland, Michael is a composer of music and lyrics, film maker and runs the three connected vocal ensembles that he founded ANÚNA, M’ANAM and Systir. Michael's music combines elements of modality and contemporary compositional practices. He specializes in the composition of music for voices.His extensive output includes a number of pieces that have entered the standard repertoire of choirs all over the world. His settings of Irish language texts in particular fuse modality, alternating time signatures and medieval tonal colours in a unique fashion that is instantly recognisable as his work. While he is deeply passionate about creating music in the Irish language his music is expansive, spanning genres, languages and exploring the links between film making and musical creativity. Michael's music spans a huge range of textures, encompassing larger scale occasional pieces such as “Agnus Dei” (2005) commissioned by Chanticleer, and “Maalaulu” (2021), commissioned by Tampere Vocal Festival. Many of his compositions have entered the standard choral repertoire for choirs across the world including “Incantations”, “Dúlamán”, “One Last Song” and “Hinbarra”. In 2017 Michael was the recipient of the University College Dublin Alumni Award in Arts/Humanities and was visiting Eminent Scholar at the Music Department of Florida Atlantic University (2011-2013). In 2019 he became part of the UCD Creative Fellows. He was Artistic Director of the Tampere Vocal Festival (2021) and in 2022 was invited to give a presentation on the genesis of his compositions at the Nordic Choral Directors Conference in Reykjavík. His film “Mutability and Transcendence” was premiered at the World Symposium on Choral Music 2023 in Istanbul. Michael has produced and recorded nineteen albums for ANÚNA and M’ANAM. ANÚNA (1993), Celtic Origins (2007) and Christmas Memories (2008) have featured in the US Billboard Charts. Deep Dead Blue (1999) was nominated for a Classical Brit Award and went top five in the UK Classical Charts. To get in touch with Michael, you can visit his website: https://www.michaelmcglynn.com/Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro Part 2 episode from May 22, 2023, to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.Podcast music from Podcast.coPhoto in episode artwork by Trace Hudson