John McCarthy is Director of Preparatory and Extension Divisions at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Last year he was one of three teachers of classical music in the country to receive a Distinguished Teacher award from the Department of Education at a special ceremony in Washington D.C. The National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts has honored McCarthy for his outstanding teaching four times and his students have received many awards at the international and national level, including first prizes in the Corpus Christi, Individualis, Khatchaturian, Stravinsky and Scottish International Piano Competitions. As a performer, McCarthy has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony in Davies Symphony Hall, with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players at the Ojai Festival, at CAMI Hall in New York City, at Stanford University and in the annual Bracebridge Concerts at Yosemite National Park.

A graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, John McCarthy's principal teachers included Katja Andy, Bernhard Abramowitsch, Martin Canin, Peggy Salkind and Robert Helps. After graduation from the Conservatory, he was appointed to the piano and musicianship faculties, where he has taught for more than 30 years. In 1996, McCarthy was named Director of Preparatory and Extension Divisions and is also director of the Conservatory in the Schools program.