Kevin McMahon
Kevin McMahon
Violinist, composer, and conductor Kevin McMahon studied orchestral, choral, and opera conducting at the University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin-Madison. Among his teachers were Gustav Meier, Carl St. Clair, and David E. Becker. McMahon’s musical mentors include Margaret Hillis, Elizabeth A. H. Green, Gunther Schuller, and Maurice Abravanel. As part of the New York Philharmonic Symposium he worked with Erich Leinsdorf. McMahon was music director and conductor of the National Arts Chamber Orchestra, first conductor for the Lincoln Opera of Chicago, and resident conductor of the Rome Festival (Italy). McMahon also served as Music Director of the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra, Wheaton Symphony Orchestra, and Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra. He served as artistic director and conductor of the Maud Powell Music Festival, as well as associate conductor of the New York Repertory Orchestra in New York City. McMahon currently teaches at Purdue University Fort Wayne where he serves as orchestra director.
In the United States McMahon led orchestras in Chicago, Spokane, Tampa, Elgin, South Bend, Cleveland, Washington D. C., Atlanta, Ann Arbor, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Evanston and Milwaukee to name a few. Internationally, McMahon conducted in Germany, Czech Republik, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Italy.
McMahon is devoted to presenting opera. Recent, significant projects include productions of his own operas Maud Powell-Queen of Violinists and Marilyn Monroe at the Maud Powell Music Festival, Hansel and Gretel at the same festival, and The Consul at Chamber Opera Chicago.
As a violinist, he served professionally with the Alabama Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Toledo Opera, Windsor (Canada) Symphony, McMahon’s Associate Concertmaster positions included Saginaw Symphony, Southwest Michigan Symphony, and the Northwest Indiana Symphony. Concertmaster positions included Plymouth Symphony, Saginaw Symphony, Rome Festival (Italy), and the Detroit Metropolitan Orchestra. He currently performs with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.
Among awards the most prestigious McMahon was awarded is the Collins Wisconsin Distinguished Fellowship enabling him to pursue and earn a Doctor of Musical Arts.
