Winter Music Reception

Please join us as Dr. John McKean, Selwyn College Cambridge presents

Thursday, March 5, 2026, 6:00-8:30pm | Union Club of Boston

How did Baroque musicians such as J.S. Bach conceptualize “technique” in a time before the word itself had entered the lexicon? In this engaging lecture-recital, harpsichordist and musicologist Dr. John McKean (Selwyn College, Cambridge) explores the fascinating history of keyboard performance in the Baroque era—not just how musicians played, but how they conceived of the act of playing. Drawing on historical thought and embodied practice, McKean shows how earlier praxes of technique and expression—once intimately connected—can reshape how we hear, interpret, and experience early music today.

The lecture-recital will be held at the Union Club of Boston, 8 Park Street, Boston MA. Dress code is business casual. The Union Club, in its wonderful setting overlooking Boston Common, is easily reached by public transportation (Park Street T-Station) and parking is available nearby at the Boston Common Garage, entrance at 0 Charles Street. Registration should be made no later than February 28th. The cost is $45 per person and includes a first drink and passed hors d'oeuvres during the reception. There will also be a cash bar. The Club accepts cash only: no credit cards, please.

John McKean is a harpsichordist and musicologist whose performances and scholarship bring the music of the past into the present with energy and depth. Based in Boston, he has performed extensively throughout Europe and North America, with a repertoire spanning solo recitals, chamber music, and large-scale orchestral and choral works. McKean collaborates with ensembles including Boston Baroque, Handel + Haydn Society, Boston Camerata, Emmanuel Music, Upper Valley Baroque, A Far Cry, and Apollo’s Fire. He is a faculty member at the Longy School of Music and holds degrees from Oberlin College and Conservatory, the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, and the University of Cambridge, where he earned his Ph.D. Performing on a Flemish harpsichord he built himself, McKean is also a board member of the Boston Clavichord Society, championing the expressive qualities of historical keyboard instruments. His work invites audiences into a dialogue with the past, creating performances that are vibrant and engaging, yet deeply connected to tradition.