AFCEC family member sings her way into America's hearts

  • Published
  • By Shauna Jones
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  When Dawn McClure found out there were openings in the American Military Spouses Choir, she propped her iPhone on the mantel, recorded an audition piece and submitted it to the Center for American Military Music Opportunities for consideration.

Dawn, whose husband, Col. Gregory McClure, is the housing director at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, was chosen as a member and has since traveled with the group to Chicago, Las Vegas and New York, advancing through two rounds of NBC's "America's Got Talent" auditions and now on to the semifinals after judging results announced Aug. 7.

Singing has been a hobby, not a career, for Dawn over the years. She participated in school choirs and a high school garage band, and colonel recalls his wife singing Pat Benatar songs.

As part of the 50-member American Military Spouses Choir, Dawn sings with military spouses from all services, and the choir is one of several groups and individual artists supported by CAMMO, a nonprofit organization whose main focus is providing music therapy programs for wounded warriors with service-related conditions.

In addition to music therapy, the organization conducts outreach to military members and veterans to connect them with music industry related career opportunities, and develops top-notch music artists by providing this like coaching, musical arrangements and song writing workshops.

"It's a neat opportunity, and we're really happy to be a part of this. What CAMMO is doing is pretty cool, and we were impressed with what they do for wounded warriors even before Dawn became a member," the colonel said.

To hear them perform, one would assume they rehearse tirelessly for hours; however, prior to their Chicago audition for America's Got Talent, the group had only one full rehearsal.

A mix of women working inside and outside of the home, members of the American Military Spouses Choir fit rehearsals and performances in between family and work life, and many of the group's members live in various locations across the country.

So, how are they able to blend their musical talents? Each member is provided the musical arrangements and recordings of their parts, and the geographically dispersed members practice individually using the provided music and recordings. The members have Skype sessions where they're able to ask questions and receive specific direction on musical notation and dynamics.

All of that hard work, both individually and as a team, paid off Aug. 7, as the group learned it had made it to the semifinals. The colonel said he expects semifinals to occur sometime in September.

When asked if Dawn has aspirations or plans of going further with her music after "America's Got Talent," her husband, who is currently learning guitar and some aspects of sound engineering, leaked his own agenda, "I think she's just going to go with this and see where it leads. But I'd like to get her into classic rock so we can perform in a little garage band of our own for the neighborhood - maybe some AC/DC or Bad Company."