Virginia Macdonald

Juno Award-nominated clarinetist Virginia MacDonald has established herself as a rising star of her generation. Known for her lyrical and soulful clarinet playing, Virginia has been described as a “powerful new voice in the Canadian scene” by Juno Award-winning bassist Mike Downes. As a highly in-demand bandleader, sidewoman, and composer, Virginia keeps a regular performance schedule across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Virginia has performed at jazz festivals globally including performances at the Detroit Jazz Festival, the Rochester Jazz Festival, the Jaipur Jazz & Blues Festival, the Toronto Jazz Festival, and the Montreal Jazz Festival, to name a few. Virginia has had the pleasure of performing abroad extensively in India, Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Italy, and the UK, and has performed at historic and prestigious venues including Koerner Hall, Ronnie Scott’s, Birdland, Smalls, and Le Duc Des Lombards.

In 2020, Virginia was selected as the first-prize winner of the International Clarinetist Corona Competition; judges included Anat Cohen, Victor Goines, Ken Peplowski, and Doreen Ketchens. Some of Virginia’s other accolades include being selected as a Stingray Rising Star Award recipient in 2019, and being selected as one of three finalists for the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Jazz Artist Award in 2021. In 2023, Virginia was selected to headline the International Clarinet Association’s 50th anniversary celebration at ClarinetFest in Denver, Colorado.

Virginia has recorded and performed with esteemed artists including Michael Dease, Ira Coleman, Harold Mabern, Geoffrey Keezer, Rodney Whitaker, Xavier Davis, Quincy Davis, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Bill Cunliffe, Randy Napoleon, Derrick Gardner, Kirk MacDonald, Pat Labarbera, Neil Swainson, and Terry Clarke. Virginia is a member of the Canadian Jazz Collective, a seven-piece ensemble comprised of award-winning and established Canadian jazz musicians. Virginia was featured on the Canadian Jazz Collective’s debut album “Septology”, which was nominated for a Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year in 2024.

Virginia was featured on Caity Gyorgy’s 2022 Juno Award-winning album “Now Pronouncing” and her 2023 Juno Award-winning follow-up “Featuring”. In 2023, Virginia appeared on Grammy Award-winning trombonist Michael Dease’s album “The Other Shoe: The Music of Greg Hill”. Virginia has been featured on several Juno Award-nominated albums, and has appeared on fifteen-plus albums as a sidewoman. Virginia’s composition “Up High, Down Low” was featured on Michael Dease’s 2023 release “Swing Low”.

In addition to her busy performance schedule, Virginia is an in-demand educator and has led classes and workshops as a visiting artist at universities and post-secondary music programs internationally. She has given masterclasses at Laval University, Université de Sherbrooke, McGill University, University of Manitoba, St. FX University, University of Toronto, VSO School of Music, the Global Music Institute, and the True School of Music.

Virginia is an endorsed artist for Buffet Crampon, Rovner Products, and Daddario Woodwinds.