John McKean

John McKean is a harpsichordist and musicologist based in Boston, where he serves on the faculty of the Historical Performance Department at the Longy School of Music. Frequently in demand as both a soloist and continuo player, he has performed extensively throughout Europe and North America, with concert engagements bringing him to venues as far afield as the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Fondazione Cini (Venice), Museu da Música (Lisbon), St. Martin-in-the-Fields (London), Norðurljós Hall (Reykjavík), and the Philips Collection (Washington, DC). Critically acclaimed for his “intelligent” and “precise” playing (The Washington Post) as well as his “sonorous brilliance and thrilling, dance-like energy” (Allgäuer Zeitung), John has appeared with numerous noted ensembles and orchestras, including Apollo’s Fire, Emmanuel Music, Catacoustic Consort, Sarasa Ensemble, Camerata Vocale Freiburg, and Bay Chamber Concerts, as well as the Jacksonville, Naples, Portland (Maine), and Pittsburgh symphony orchestras. John holds degrees in German Studies and Harpsichord Performance from Oberlin College/Conservatory and an advanced performance diploma from the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg (Germany). He also holds an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. in historical musicology from the University of Cambridge (U.K). For several years he served as an assistant editor of the Oxford University Press journal Early Music. Beyond his musicological work and performing career, he also maintains an active interest in instrument building (he regularly performs on a 17th-century style Flemish harpsichord of his own making), music publishing, typography, and exploring the remote corners of his home state of Maine. For more information, visit www.johnmckean.info