Clare Maclean has composed music for choral and instrumental ensembles in Australia and overseas, with works recorded by many of these, including the St Louis Chamber Chorus, for whom Clare was composer in residence from 2006 to 2011. The Sydney Chamber Choir recorded two Tall Poppies CDs of Clare’s music, and one of these, Osanna, won the Australian Art Music Award for vocal music in 2012. Her music has been chosen to represent Australia in ISCM World Music Days and an Asian Composers League festival. 

Clare’s music explores modal and extended tonalities, often within a contrapuntal texture, with influences including Renaissance, East Asian and European traditional musics, aiming to create a sense of the numinous.

Until 2025, Clare lectured at Western Sydney University, and was Director of Academic Program, Music and Music Therapy, from 2021-23. She is now an Adjunct Fellow with the School of Humanities and Communication Arts.