Carolanne B. McLean

The Wonders of Worship

Choruses for the Nations

Biography

Carolanne B. McLean

First and foremost, Carolanne loves Jesus.  She attributes His unconditional love and support for everything she has accomplished. 


Carolanne began singing at age 4, wrote her first song before she was 5 and by age 7 began showing an aptitude for piano, but particularly for close harmony and musical arrangements, which was nurtured by her mother (then Minister of Music at her childhood church), who allowed her to assist in teaching harmony to the young gospel-singing groups in the church.  By age 14, she was allowed to broaden her scope of writing, teaching and arranging to include teaching voice parts for and directing the church's Youth and Young Adult Choir. 


Over the years, her involvement with gospel music grew to include being the bassist for the Black Gospel Choir of the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts, where she had gained entrance as a theater major and began studying classical piano.  By her graduating year, she became the first from the school to ever receive a full, four-year scholarship to college and was recognized in an assembly before her peers by then Principle William E. Dickinson. 


Notable accomplishments in college include the following:


  • Sang alto with the Stillman College Choir in Tuscaloosa, AL under director James Arthur Williams and accompanist Lila LeVan Loadwick 
  • Recruited by Professor Bob Britton to add accompaniment to his lyrics for the Wright State University, student body play “Real I Am”, by David Sain Jr. 
  • Bassist for Wright State University Black Gospel Choir (The choir was originally formed by the students to fill the gap of not being able to sing in their various home church choirs.  Before the end of the first year, the university was footing the bill for the choir to tour the surrounding community, eventually adding it to the university's curriculum.)
  • Once hired by W.S.U.’s Dean of Students to play for a faculty dinner, based on her reputation for having a soothing effect on people as she played and sang. 


Other notable work:


  • Spent 3 years leading worship, singing, playing piano for and directing contemporary gospel choirs in Europe under Church of God in Christ (C.O.G.I.C.), Germany Jurisdiction headed by Bishop Carlos L. Moody Sr.   Carolanne sang, played piano and directed choirs at the local and district levels and was a musician and soloist at the jurisdictional level under choir director Jonathan Williams and Minister of Music Carlis Moody Jr.


 

Though Carolanne spent many years in association with what was then called "Black Gospel" music, her own personal taste in Christian music has always been eclectic and includes nearly every style as long as the lyrics are principled by the Word of God.