BIOGRAPHY

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, McKean has performed extensively throughout Europe and North America, with concert engagements bringing him to venues as far afield as the Norðurljós Hall in Reykjavík, Museu da Música in Lisbon, Fondazione Cini in Venice, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, and the Philips Collection in Washington, D.C. As both a soloist and continuo player, McKean’s repertoire extends from intimate solo recitals and chamber music to large-scale orchestral, choral, and operatic performances.

 

He collaborates with an array of period instrument ensembles, among them Boston Baroque, Handel + Haydn Society, Boston Camerata, Emmanuel Music, Upper Valley Baroque, Sarasa, and Apollo’s Fire. Regularly featured at festivals like Bay Chamber Concerts, the Portland Bach Experience, and the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival, he has also performed with a variety of modern groups, including A Far Cry and the Worcester Chamber Music Society, as well as the Rhode Island and Naples Philharmonics, and the Portland, Jacksonville, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras.

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As an educator, McKean teaches a range of subjects—including harpsichord, music history, German, and musicology—at the Longy School of Music, where he also previously led the Historical Performance Department as its chair. McKean holds degrees in German Studies and Harpsichord Performance from Oberlin College/Conservatory and an advanced performance diploma from the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg (Germany), where he studied with Lisa Crawford/Webb Wiggins and Robert Hill respectively. He received additional instruction over the years from some of the greatest modern masters of historical keyboards, including Arthur Haas, Jacques Ogg, Skip Sempé, Jesper Christensen, Ketil Haugsand, Mitzi Meyerson, Richard Egarr, and Gustav Leonhardt. He also holds an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. in historical musicology from the University of Cambridge (U.K). An internationally recognized expert in the history and development of Baroque keyboard technique, this area of research serves as a vital intersection between his academic and performing careers.

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McKean regularly performs on a Flemish harpsichord of his own manufacture, reflecting his broader interest in the design, construction, and maintenance of historical keyboard instruments. Beyond the harpsichord, he is deeply engaged with the world of historical keyboard instruments in general, and the clavichord in particular. As a board member of the Boston Clavichord Society, he enjoys promoting this most intimate and expressive of keyboard instruments.

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Originally from Maine, McKean draws inspiration from his home state’s juxtaposition of tradition and individualism, qualities that mirror his approach to historical performance. As both an artist and educator, he is passionate about fostering connections between today’s audiences and the rich legacy of earlier musical traditions, creating experiences that are as vibrant and engaging as they are historically informed.