Tim McKay currently serves on faculty at Howard Community College where he teaches applied percussion lessons, the fundamentals of music theory course, and private lessons through HCC's Music Institute program. He is the director of the popular Drummin' Dragons Summer Percussion Camp, and the 2016 recipient of HCC's Arts and Humanities Adjunct Faculty of the Year award. In addition to teaching at HCC, he is the long-time percussion coach of the Howard County Youth Orchestra. An active clinician and educator, Mr. McKay has given clinics and masterclasses throughout the DMV, including the PAS MD/DE Day of Percussion, and has adjudicated Solo and Ensemble Festivals as well as regional and state-level auditions. Mr. McKay is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, the Vic Firth Education Team, and the Black Swamp Percussion Educator Network. Many of his students have performed in county, state, and national programs and festivals, including the Midwest Festival and Music for All, and have been accepted into some of the top music schools and conservatories in the country.
Mr. McKay performs regularly as section percussionist/assistant timpanist with the Apollo Orchestra, and has previously performed with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Mid-Atlantic Symphony, as well as the Annapolis, Roanoke, West Virginia, and Syracuse Symphonies. He has performed at venues across the country including the Kennedy Center, Strathmore Music Center, Baltimore Lyric Opera House, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, The Hippodrome, National Cathedral, the Getty Center (LA), Merkin Hall (NYC), and the Cleveland Museum of Art. With more than 25 musical theater productions to his credit, he has performed at venues including including Olney Theater, Imagination Stage, Studio Theater, and the Atlas Theater. In 2009, Mr. McKay performed the first movement of Christopher Rouse's percussion concerto Der geretette Alberich with the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra alongside UMD alumni Lee Hinkle and Danny Villanueva. In 2012 he was named a Rising Star finalist at Howard County's Celebration of the Arts Gala, and he performed with American Idol winner Phillip Phillips for PBS's A Capitol Fourth celebration on the National Mall. In March 2026 he was one of the four soloists for Viet Cuong's percussion quartet concerto, Re(new)al, with the Columbia Orchestra.
Mr. McKay holds a BM in percussion performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he studied with Michael Rosen, and a MM in percussion performance from the University of Maryland where he studied with John Tafoya. Former teachers include Guy Gauthreaux (ret. US Navy Band), Bill Richards (ret. US Army Band) and Brian Prechtl (Baltimore Symphony). In addition to music, Mr. McKay enjoys homeschooling his kids, helping coach his son’s travel baseball team, and baking artisan sourdough bread. He lives in Columbia with his Howard County music educator and violist wife, Amanda, children Isabelle and Zach, and their eight chickens, the Lovely Ladies. In his spare time you can find Mr. McKay hiking and camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains, cycling the back roads of Howard County, and listening to music from his favorite bands, Dave Matthews Band and Phish.
Mr. McKay holds a BM in percussion performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he studied with Michael Rosen, and a MM in percussion performance from the University of Maryland where he studied with John Tafoya. Former teachers include Guy Gauthreaux (ret. US Navy Band), Bill Richards (ret. US Army Band) and Brian Prechtl (Baltimore Symphony). In addition to music, Mr. McKay enjoys homeschooling his kids, helping coach his son’s travel baseball team, and baking artisan sourdough bread. He lives in Columbia with his Howard County music educator and violist wife, Amanda, children Isabelle and Zach, and their eight chickens, the Lovely Ladies. In his spare time you can find Mr. McKay hiking and camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains, cycling the back roads of Howard County, and listening to music from his favorite bands, Dave Matthews Band and Phish.
