John McKean brings a distinctive perspective to the world of historical keyboards, combining rigorous scholarship with accessible teaching and dynamic performance. As a faculty member at the Longy School of Music, where he previously served as chair of the Historical Performance Department, John has guided many musicians through their first encounters with the harpsichord and other early keyboard instruments. His teaching philosophy emphasizes practical exploration over dry theory, believing that the harpsichord’s unique qualities — its subtle differences of articulation, crisp touch, and enchanting resonance — can enhance any keyboardist’s understanding of baroque style and repertory.
John’s own journey with the harpsichord began in his youth, followed by formal training at Oberlin Conservatory; he then pursued advanced studies at Germany’s Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and earned his Ph.D. in historical musicology from the University of Cambridge. A 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.
As a performer, John appears regularly with leading ensembles including Boston Baroque, the Handel + Haydn Society, Boston Camerata, Emmanuel Music, A Far Cry, Sarasa, Upper Valley Baroque, and the Worcester Chamber Music Society, as well as a variety of modern orchestras throughout North America. He regularly performs on a Flemish harpsichord of his own manufacture, reflecting his broader interest in the design, construction, and maintenance of historical keyboard instruments — knowledge that proves invaluable when helping musicians understand the different possibilities these instruments offer.
Originally from Maine, McKean draws inspiration from his home state’s juxtaposition of tradition and individualism. In his hands, historical performance becomes not about recreating a dead past, but about discovering what these instruments and musical traditions can teach us about being fully alive in the present moment. For more information, visit www.johnmckean.info.
Vivian Montgomery, DMA, is an award-winning keyboardist on the Historical Performance Faculty of the Longy School of Music. A 2014 UK Fulbright Senior Research Scholar and a recipient of an Individual Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, she served as harpsichord and Baroque Performance faculty for the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music 2003-2013.
With degrees from Case Western Reserve University and the University of Michigan, Vivian’s performing life has ardently explored the musical lives of women from 1500 to 1900, especially through 25 years of cross-disciplinary work with her ensemble, Cecilia’s Circle (ccircle.org). From 2008 until 2019, Vivian held a post as a Resident Scholar at the Brandeis University Women’s Studies Research Center (brandeis.edu/wsrc), where she engaged in far-ranging advocacy for female composers. She is founding director of the experimentally activist Boston-based ensemble Eudaimonia, A Purposeful Period Band (eudaimonia-music.org) and her recordings can be found on the Centaur, Schubert Club, and Innova labels.
A writer of both scholarly articles and creative nonfiction, Vivian bridges the two realms in Finding the Space Between, a collaborative project with Edward Parmentier on living and breathing as a harpsichordist, and a historical novel about long-buried Georgian composer/keyboardist Martha Greatorex. Her research-based work can be read in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the Early Keyboard Journal, Early Music America magazine, the British Keyboard Society Journal, and Mel Bay publications, while her creative writing has been published widely in journals and anthologies, receiving honors from such publications as Chautauqua, Narrative, Writers Digest, New Letters, and The Bridport Prize. Finally, Vivian is an accordionist, heard regularly as leader of the klezmer band Shir Chutzpa.
