Kevin McBrien

Bio

Kevin McBrien received a PhD in musicology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2022. His dissertation examines select moments of intersection between European émigré musicians and three Los Angeles orchestras in the 1930s and 40s. Other research interests include American musical institutions, canonicity, concert culture, and public musicology/audience engagement practices. Kevin also holds a master’s in musicology from UCSB (2019) and a bachelor’s in music history & literature from California State University, Long Beach (2015).

Kevin is an active writer, editor, and speaker. He has written program notes and presented pre-concert talks for several organizations across the US, including The Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis and Seattle symphonies, Aspen Music Festival and School, and Philharmonic Society of Orange County, among others.

For three summers, Kevin worked as Assistant Program Book Editor at the Aspen Music Festival and School (2018, 2019, 2021). He spent summer 2015 in the Music Division of the Library of Congress, organizing and archiving twentieth-century publicity photographs as part of the Junior Fellows summer intern program.

Kevin has performing experience as a horn player, chorister, and conductor. In his free time, he enjoys blogging, movies, attending concerts, and long walks.