Originally from Ann Arbor, MI, and Fairfax, VA, Tim McKay is currently a faculty member at Howard Community College in Columbia, MD, where he teaches applied percussion lessons and private lessons through HCC's Music Institute program, and is the director of HCC's Drummin' Dragons Summer Percussion Camp. He was the recipient of the 2016 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. As a sought after teacher, many of his students have participated in prestigious programs and festivals, including Maryland All-State Band and Orchestra, the local PAS chapter Day of Percussion, the Midwest Clinic, Music for All Festival, Tanglewood, Interlochen Arts Camp, Brevard Music Center, and they have been accepted into the top music schools and conservatories in the country. All of his students, both present and former, continue to be a driving force of inspiration.
Tim performs regularly and enjoys a myriad of playing opportunities; everything from symphony work and musical theater, to church services and accompanying local choirs. He performs most often with the Apollo Orchestra, and has performed with the Inscape Chamber Orchestra, Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, as well as the Roanoke, Annapolis, Mid-Atlantic, West Virginia, and Syracuse Symphonies. He has worked with world-renowned conductors including Leonard Slatkin, Gerard Swartz, Robert Spano, David Robertson, JoAnn Falletta, David Stewart Wiley, and David Chan. Additionally, he has more than 25 musical theater productions to his credit, and has recorded with the Patagonia Winds. In 2009, Tim performed 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 later that year 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.
Tim McKay is a proud graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (BM, 2003), the University of Maryland (MM, 2005), and is an alumni of the National Orchestral Institute (2000, 2004-2005). He is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, the Vic Firth Education Team, and the Black Swamp Percussion Educator Network. When he's not immersed in music, Tim enjoys homeschooling his kids, helping coach his son’s 14U travel baseball team, and baking sourdough bread. In his spare time you can find Tim hiking and camping with his family, cycling the back roads of Howard County, and planning his next concert trip to see his favorite bands, Dave Matthews Band and Phish. He lives in Columbia, MD, with his music educator and violist wife, Amanda, children Isabelle and Zach, and their eight chickens, The Lovely Ladies.
Tim performs regularly and enjoys a myriad of playing opportunities; everything from symphony work and musical theater, to church services and accompanying local choirs. He performs most often with the Apollo Orchestra, and has performed with the Inscape Chamber Orchestra, Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, as well as the Roanoke, Annapolis, Mid-Atlantic, West Virginia, and Syracuse Symphonies. He has worked with world-renowned conductors including Leonard Slatkin, Gerard Swartz, Robert Spano, David Robertson, JoAnn Falletta, David Stewart Wiley, and David Chan. Additionally, he has more than 25 musical theater productions to his credit, and has recorded with the Patagonia Winds. In 2009, Tim performed 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 later that year 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.
Tim McKay is a proud graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (BM, 2003), the University of Maryland (MM, 2005), and is an alumni of the National Orchestral Institute (2000, 2004-2005). He is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, the Vic Firth Education Team, and the Black Swamp Percussion Educator Network. When he's not immersed in music, Tim enjoys homeschooling his kids, helping coach his son’s 14U travel baseball team, and baking sourdough bread. In his spare time you can find Tim hiking and camping with his family, cycling the back roads of Howard County, and planning his next concert trip to see his favorite bands, Dave Matthews Band and Phish. He lives in Columbia, MD, with his music educator and violist wife, Amanda, children Isabelle and Zach, and their eight chickens, The Lovely Ladies.
