Bio
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Dr. McLendon has earned:
B.S. in Education, Jacksonville State University (AL)
M.M. in Performance, University of Louisiana in Lafayette
Ed. Specialist in Music Education, Troy University (AL)
Ed. D. in Education Leadership, Argosy University in Sarasota, FL. (Part of his doctoral research was conducted in the industrial city of Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo, Russia which is located in southwestern Siberia.)
Professional affiliations:
- American Society for Composers, Authors, and Publishers
- The Society of Composers & Lyricists
- Kappa Delta Pi – International Honor Society in Education
- Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
- Pi Kappa Lambda – Honor Society in Music
Dr. Richard McLendon is an American composer, arranger, and educator. He was born in Troy, Alabama on July 9, 1953. His music compositions have been honored by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (2006-2012) and by the Percussive Arts Society (1984). He has studied music theory, composition, and/or music industry with the late Dr. David L. Walters, Robert W. Smith, Jim Mahaffey, and the late Dr. Gerald Burke. He studied conducting with the late Dr. John Finley and Dr. John M. Long, an elected member of the National Band Association Hall of Fame of Distinguished Conductors. Dr. McLendon is an Educational Artist Innovative Percussion, Inc. based in Nashville, TN.
He has attended film music seminars presented by George S. Clinton (Primetime Emmy-nominated composer), Peter Golub (Director of the Sundance Film Festival Music Program), Don Davis (Primetime Emmy award winner), Thomas Newman (Oscar-nominated composer), and several other established film composers. He has been privately coached by well-known film orchestrator and film/video game composer, Penka Kouneva. She is known for her orchestration work on movies such as Ender’s Game (2013), Need for Speed (2014), Elysium (2013), Angels & Demons (2009), and many others.
Dr. McLendon has also attended video game seminars presented by award-winning composers Penka Kouneva, Marty O’Donnell, Austin Wintory, and other established video game composers. He has also attended a lengthy conducting session given by Oscar-nominated film composer, David Newman. He has composed for movies such as Anastasia (1997), Ice Age, (2002), Daddy Day Care (2003), The Phantom (1996), and many other films.
As a 34-year music educator, his performing ensembles have toured most of the United States, eastern Canada, most of western and central Europe, and the countries of Ecuador and Colombia, South America. At his first public school job in 1979-80, the Murray High School Band in Murray, KY was invited to perform in the 1980 Macy*s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. That same year, the band was also recognized by the National Band Association as one of the top bands in the United States and performed at their National Convention in Knoxville, TN. A second group that he was also writing and consulting, the Enterprise High School Band from Enterprise, AL, was also selected and performed in Knoxville.
In 1983, Dr. McLendon’s entire 32-piece percussion ensemble for the Pride of Cincinnati Drum & Bugle Corps was host to jazz artist Chuck Mangione after he visited their rehearsal. He asked the percussion ensemble to accompany him at a performance at his wife’s graduation reception at the University of Cincinnati. Of course, the group happily accepted the impromptu invitation.
In 1995, Dr. McLendon was recognized by Georgia Governor Zell Miller and the Georgia General Assembly for his teaching and musical accomplishments when his students from Moultrie, GA became the state’s first high school band program to perform in the Republic of Ireland. In 1998, his students performed 16 concerts in 8 European countries. In 1999, an invitation from the mayor of Maastricht brought his students to perform in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium.
Dr. McLendon’s groups have participated in the 2005 Presidential Inaugural Parade, the 2006 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA, the 2001 and the 2008 Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington, DC, and the Thanksgiving Day Parades in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. He has presented percussion clinics at regional universities, state music conventions, and in South America.
