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Kevin C. McDonald, Ph.D. is a passionate musicologist and an acclaimed jazz drummer. His performance credits include Dave Liebman, Mark Turner, Paquito D’Rivera, Miguel Zenon, Bob Mintzer, Randy Brecker, and Lee Konitz in international venues including Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, The White House, The U.S. Library of Congress, The Midwest Clinic, the Jazz Education Network, and Bimhuis. He serves as Adjunct Professor of Applied Jazz Percussion at ����AV and as drummer for the U.S. Navy Band Commodores, the Navy’s premier jazz ensemble. Professor McDonald is a proud endorsing artist for Yamaha drums, Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth drumsticks, and Remo drumheads.

​He​ holds a Ph.D. in musicology from the Catholic University of America and has been invited to present excerpts from his dissertation, “Hearing the American Civil Rights Movement in the Music of Max Roach,” at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society (AMS). He was selected to perform in Carnegie Hall’s 2011 Professional Training Workshops directed by Brad Mehldau and has given masterclasses at leading institutions around the globe, including Columbia University Teachers College, Georgetown University, and Manhattan School of Music.

Recipient of the William H. Borden Award, Clement Meadmore Scholarship, Manhattan School of Music Scholarship, and Center for Music Entrepreneurship Fellowship, he holds a Master of Music in Jazz Arts from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied in the studio of John Riley. He earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies/Contemporary Media and a Certificate in World Music/Ethnomusicology from the Eastman School of Music, where he was​ the​ recipient of the Howard Hanson Scholarship. Professor McDonald originally hails from Greensboro, North Carolina. 

Adjunct Faculty

• Applied Jazz Percussion and Drum Set

Degrees

• BM in Jazz Studies/Contemporary Media and a Certificate in World Music/Ethnomusicology, Eastman School of Music
• MM in Jazz Arts, Manhattan School of Music
• PhD in Musicology, The Catholic University of America