Hayes School of Music

Dr. Harold McKinney was born in Spruce Pine, NC in 1948. His passion for the study of music was
fostered by Morganton, NC conductors Mr. Jack Campbell and Mr. Ray Babelay during his high
school years. His study in Trombone was guided Dr. Charles Isley, Dr. Tomas Beversdorf, and Mr.
Buddy Baker. During the Vietnam War he served as trombonist in the Shaw Air Base and Tactical
Air Command Bands, after which he moved to Chicago where he studied with Mr. Jay Friedman,
before taking a position as principal trombonist and soloist in the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra.
Upon his return to the United States a year later, he and Ms. Cathy Harbison (later to become
Hayes School of Music Professor Cathy McKinney) were married and he began graduate studies
in trombone performance and pedagogy at the University of Northern Colorado, where he earned
a Master of Music degree in performance and a Doctor of Arts degree in performance and
pedagogy.

While teaching at Appalachian, Dr. McKinney was awarded the Board of Governors Award for
Excellence in Teaching. The Appalachian Trombone Choir founded under his leadership had there
first major National Performance In Louisville, Kentucky at the Southeastern Music Educator’s
Conference. He performed in a variety of settings as a chamber, orchestral, and solo performer
while at Appalachian. This work included eight years as a member of the North Carolina
Trombone Quartet; Principal Trombonist for the Western Piedmont Symphony; soloist for
concertos with the ASU Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Band, and Wind Ensemble; and solo
performances at Midwest International Band and Orchestra Conference and two International
Brass Conferences.

During his later years at Appalachian, Dr. McKinney was invited to The European Graduate School
in Saas Fee, Switzerland, where he served as a Visiting Artist, Lecturer, and Visiting Professor
during the course of four summers. This work along with a Certification in “Creative Motion” and
post graduate work in improvisation with Paolo Knill, Stephen Nachmanovitch, and David Darling
enriched his courses in Philosophy of Music and Exploring Improvisation, and provided the
groundwork for performing and recording with the improvised chamber music ensembles, Gypsy
Harvest, Momentary Trio, and Sonorous Threshold, all of which were selected to perform for the
International Society of Improvised Music. His leadership in improvised music was instrumental

during four Easter Symposium Community Art projects created by the European Graduate School
in Rovaniemi, Finland; Lisbon, Portugal; Malta; Tenerife, Spain; Kilkenny, Ireland; and Berlin,
Germany.

Following his retirement, Dr. McKinney taught trombone part time at Emory and Henry College
where he played with the E&H Faculty Brass Quintet. Presently he remains active with Mountain
Home Music’s Bluegrass and Brass, Music for People, the Appalachian Expressive Arts Collective,
and The Creative Motion Alliance. His wife Cathy founded the Music Therapy Program at
Appalachian. His son Christopher completed undergraduate and graduate degrees at Appalachian
and his daughter Moriah graduated the SDAP program at Appalachian.