Evan A. MacCarthy

Evan A. MacCarthy is a Five College Visiting Associate Professor of Music History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Music and Dance. He holds a B.A. in Classics and Music from the College of the Holy Cross and a Ph.D. in Historical Musicology from Harvard University. His research focuses on fifteenth-century music and theory, late medieval chant, German Baroque music, and nineteenth-century American music. He directs the ELEMENTS project at the Kinney Center, exploring the cultural and scientific roles of classical elements (earth, air, fire, water) across disciplines and time periods.

His publications include works in Journal of Musicology, Renaissance Quarterly, and Music & Letters, alongside book chapters and editions such as Ruled by the Muses and the Magnus Liber Organi. Awards include the NEH Rome Prize and CRIA Fellowship. He has advised students on diverse topics from medieval music to modern Broadway and film scores.

MacCarthy has held faculty roles at Harvard, MIT, Boston University, and West Virginia University. Professional service includes leadership in the American Musicological Society and Renaissance Society of America. Current initiatives include the Five College Renaissance Seminar and UMass Bach Festival.