McKay, Janis

Janis McKay is the Associate Professor of Bassoon at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and the Principal Bassoon of the Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra. She also performs as Principal Bassoon for the Classical Music Festival in Austria and as Contrabassoon for the Reno Philharmonic. McKay has held positions and performed with numerous orchestras including the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Reno Chamber Orchestra, the Canton Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Charleston (WV) Orchestra, the Springfield (OH) Symphony Orchestra, the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, and the Louisville Orchestra among many others. As a free-lance musician in Las Vegas, McKay has performed and/or toured with such artists as Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Charlotte Church, John Williams, Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, Gloria Estafan, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Metallica, Stevie Wonder, Seth MacFarlane, and Tony Bennett.

She has twice been a featured soloist with the International Music Festival in the Ukraine, twice with the Classical Music Festival touring Austria and Hungary, and once with the Las Vegas Philharmonic.  She may be heard on Summit, d'Note, Starkland Records, and First Edition recordings.

Janis McKay received her D.M.A. from The Ohio State University, the Master of Music degree from the University of Louisville, and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Georgia.  Her major teachers were Christopher Weait, Matthew Karr, and William Davis.  Dr. McKay previously taught at Baylor University, Capital University, the Ohio Wesleyan University, and Wright State University.  She has given recitals and/or masterclasses in China, Japan, the Ukraine, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, and at numerous places in the United States.