Blair McNair (1959-2021)
Pro audio veteran Blair Andrew McNair passed away on March 1, 2021 after an extended battle with COVID-19. He was 61.
Well-known in the field of acoustical measurements and a highly respected sound system designer, McNair was also a talented musician and front of house and monitor engineer. His career spanned more than four decades in all aspects of installed sound, including such diverse venues as houses of worship, U.S. Navy warships, performing arts centers, athletic venues, museums and underwater sound systems. As the chairman of the TEF Advisory Committee for several years, he had been involved in the measurement, adjustment, evaluation and certification of audio systems. McNair was also a practicing mix engineer for music and speech-driven events and used that knowledge to temper hard science with aesthetic considerations.
While involved in a wide range of applications and markets, McNair’s first passion was with houses of worship and the technical systems that support the ministries of those organizations, working as a consultant/designer — both freelance and with a variety companies serving those clients. He particularly enjoyed going out of his way to share his extensive knowledge and skillset with novices who were entering the industry.
Born August 28, 1959 in Melbourne Beach, Florida he attended Melbourne High School and then went on to Brevard Community College in Cocoa, Florida eventually joined the U.S. Air Force, where he worked as a missile systems analyst on Minuteman II ICBM rockets.
McNair later began a long association with Crown International’s TEF Products division as a product development and sales manager. There, McNair’s natural sense of humor and friendly attitude made him a popular choice to teach seminars and educational programs on the TEF sound and acoustics analyzer, where he was known for his ability to make complex technology topics understandable to his students. He also worked as a field sales engineer for JBL Pro and contributed to the industry by authoring numerous magazine articles and participating in presentations and educational activities at industry events.
Blair McNair is survived by his wife Marcia Lynn McNair, and his daughters Laura and Bonnie, son Chris, as well as countless friends, relatives and colleagues and associates throughout the audio industry who were touched by this amazing person. He will long be remembered by all who knew him.
Before his passing, Blair asked that there not be a funeral and that his friends and family remember him through laughter and music. A celebration of life will be scheduled at a later date.
Note: A memorial GoFundMe page has been set up to help his family deal with the massive medical bills incurred during Blair’s one and a half month stay in the ICU. Any amount (or if you could share this link) would help: https://www.gofundme.com/f/blair-mcnair-memorial-blessing
*This article reprinted with permission from Front of House Magazine.
