McKinley James
Affiliate Artist, Cello
BIO
McKinley James is a cellist living in Montreal. She soloed with the Filarmónica del Café in Colombia in 2022 and the Champlain Philharmonic Orchestra in 2017. She has played with the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra, Middlebury College Orchestra, McGill Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and the New England Conservatory Symphony. McKinley also toured in China with her piano trio in 2018.
She is a founding member of the band Night Tree, which was named the New England Conservatory’s Honors Ensemble for 2016-2017. Awards for this title included a sponsorship from NEC, a headlining performance at the historic Jordan Hall, and a year of working with Winifred Horan, fiddler and co-founder of Irish super-band, SOLAS. Together they toured throughout the US, opened for Solas in Portsmouth Music Hall, and played in Jordan Hall, Caramoor Festival, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Public Library, and Rockwood Music Hall. They released their debut album in 2017 and toured in Europe in 2018. She studied with Yeesun Kim at the New England Conservatory for her bachelor’s degree and graduated from McGill University with her master’s degree studying with Brian Manker. McKinley was member of the 2021-2022 Global Leaders Program cohort, receiving an Executive Graduate Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship, Cultural Agency, Teaching Artistry, and Civic Leadership.
Bio
McKinley James is a cellist living in Montreal. She soloed with the Filarmónica del Café in Colombia in 2022 and the Champlain Philharmonic Orchestra in 2017. She has played with the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra, Middlebury College Orchestra, McGill Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and the New England Conservatory Symphony. McKinley also toured in China with her piano trio in 2018.
She is a founding member of the band Night Tree, which was named the New England Conservatory’s Honors Ensemble for 2016-2017. Awards for this title included a sponsorship from NEC, a headlining performance at the historic Jordan Hall, and a year of working with Winifred Horan, fiddler and co-founder of Irish super-band, SOLAS. Together they toured throughout the US, opened for Solas in Portsmouth Music Hall, and played in Jordan Hall, Caramoor Festival, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Public Library, and Rockwood Music Hall. They released their debut album in 2017 and toured in Europe in 2018. She studied with Yeesun Kim at the New England Conservatory for her bachelor’s degree and graduated from McGill University with her master’s degree studying with Brian Manker. McKinley was member of the 2021-2022 Global Leaders Program cohort, receiving an Executive Graduate Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship, Cultural Agency, Teaching Artistry, and Civic Leadership.