Andrew McKinley

Who was Andrew McKinley?

Andrew McKinley was an American operatic tenor, violinist, arts administrator, music educator, and school administrator. Although he mainly performed in the United States, he had an active international singing career with major opera companies and symphony orchestras from the 1940s through the 1960s. His repertoire spanned a wide range, from leading tenor parts to character roles.

As a performer McKinley is best remembered for creating roles in the world premieres of two operas by Gian Carlo Menotti: Nika Magadoff in the Pulitzer Prize winning The Consul and King Kaspar in the Peabody Award winning Amahl and the Night Visitors. The latter opera was made by the NBC Opera Theatre, and McKinley filmed several more operas with that organization during his career. He also taught violin at the Juilliard School of Music for almost four decades and in 1968 founded the Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts in Wheatley Heights, Long Island.