Mckenna Reeve (she/her) is a versatile drummer, award-winning composer, and accomplished educator based in southern California. Reeve, who recently relocated to Los Angeles, comes from a jazz background yet embraces many styles of music. She has toured the US as a sideman and was an in-demand performer in the Colorado music scene. She can be heard on Julie Koenig’s releases “The Intruder” (2024) and “Renaissance Woman” (2021), Benjamin Boone’s “Caught in the Rhythm” (2023), No Hands Brass Band’s “Off the Curb” (2021), her own freshman release “Lavender Skies, Golden Plains” (2022), and live with a variety of artists and bands in California and occasionally Colorado.

Reeve’s original compositions for big band and studio orchestra have been performed by all three of the University of Northern Colorado’s Lab Bands as well as their Jazz Festival All-Star Band. In 2023 her composition “Another Food Blues” was one of two winners in the inaugural University of Nebraska Omaha Women in Jazz Composer Award, and the piece is now available for purchase via eJazzLines. Her original works span from small group jazz to concert band, studio orchestra, big band, and percussion ensemble with an emphasis on compositions meant for educational level ensembles.

Originally from California's Central Valley, Reeve grew up surrounded by kind and passionate music educators and performers whose mentorship shaped her musical growth. Fresno's tight-knit community gave her a passion for educating others, and she teaches students and educators throughout the country. In addition to running a small private studio over Zoom, Reeve has appeared as a clinician at the Fresno City College Jazz Festival, a guest conductor at the 2023 Pride Bands of America National Conference, a presenter at the 2024 California All-State Music Educators Conference, and as a teacher at multiple Central California summer camps for many years.

Reeve received her B.M. in Jazz Studies and M.M. in Jazz Composition at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. When she’s not playing, writing, or teaching, she can often be found cooking, reading, or bouldering—always with a cup of coffee in hand.