Tae McLoughlin, from South Orange, N.J., entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2021 and studies timpani and percussion with Don Liuzzi, Eric Millstein, and Ji Su Jung. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Mr. McLoughlin is the Carol Coe Conway Memorial Fellow.

Mr. McLoughlin was a finalist at the Great Plains International Marimba Competition in 2017 and was awarded the Sabian/Robert Zildjian Memorial Percussion Scholarship for all four years of his undergraduate study. He has attended Eastern Music Festival.

Prior to entering Curtis, Mr. McLoughlin earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music. His previous teachers include Christopher Lamb, Duncan Patton, Kyle Zerna, and She-e Wu. He began studying piano at age five and percussion at age seventeen. In his spare time, he is an avid tennis player and coffee lover.