McKinley Glasser

McKinley Glasser, a versatile instrumentalist, has focused equally on solo, chamber, and orchestral repertoire as well as works of musical theatre. She has performed at numerous venues, from Cleveland’s Severance Hall to the Majestic Theatre of San Antonio, Texas, sharing the stage with with diverse artists such as twenty one pilots, Fall Out Boy, Brendan Urie of Panic! at the Disco, Ben Folds, Graham Nash, bassist Edgar Meyer, violinist Jaime Laredo, pianist Angelin Chang, and cellist Sharon Robinson.

Glasser has held principal positions with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, the Chagrin Falls Studio Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. She is also a founding member of the Oberlin Mozart Players, a group dedicated to giving historically-accurate performances of eighteenth-century works. She has been recognized with honors including “Outstanding Soloist” in the Texas University Interscholastic League competition at the state level, an invitation as a fellow for the Young Artist Program of the Cactus Pear Music Festival, and the Cleveland Institute of Music’s “Outstanding Chamber Musician” award for her work over two years.

McKinley is an active freelancer and has diverse experience in teaching and performing. For the past two summers, she has been a counselor at Wyoming Seminary's Performing Arts Institute, where she coached ensembles and young cellists. Most recently she was a member of the AIMS Festival Orchestra, where she spent a month in residence in Graz, Austria performing vocal and instrumental repertoire. She is also an experienced pit musician, and has played in more than twenty opera and musical theatre productions. When not teaching or performing in ensembles, McKinley devotes her time to learning and promoting new music, and has premiered several new works for solo cello and small ensemble.

A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Preparatory Program, her primary teachers include Bryan Dumm, Brian Thornton and Cathy Meints. She has also studied under Lynn Harrell, Melissa Kraut, Joela Jones, Peter Otto, and members of the Cavani String Quartet. She currently studies with Bryan Dumm at the Cleveland State University.