Lena McLin attended the public schools of Atlanta and Chicago and received the B.M. in piano and violin from Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia. Her teachers were Florence Brinkman Boyton in piano and Leonora Brown and Willis Lawrence James in theory and composition. She studied electronic music and voice at Roosevelt University, Chicago. She completed her M.M. at the American Conservatory of Music, Chicago, where she studied music theory and counterpoint under Stella Roberts and piano under Howard Hanks. McLin's compositions include cantatas, masses, solo and choral arrangements of spirituals, anthems, art songs, rock operas, soul songs, works for piano and orchestra, and electronic music. Among her compositions are: Gwendolyn Brooks: Amusical portrait (SATB); Song Cycle (SATB); Free At Last, cantata; Psalm 117 (SATB); The Little Baby (SATB). Her musical style reflects but is not limited to the influence of the church and gospel music. Her choral works include natural word rhythms, syncopated rhythms, and imitation.<.p>

Source: Perkins Holly, Ellistine. Biographies of Black Composers and Songwriters; A Supplementary Textbook. Iowa:Wm. C. Brown Publishers, 1990.