“Clarinetist Virginia MacDonald, a standout for her eloquent, boundlessly creative solos.” Hannah Edgar, Downbeat
“[Virginia] is one of the only people I’ve heard get that completely soulful essence that you get on the saxophone; she gets it on the clarinet. She’s got her own voice.” Grammy-Award winning trombonist Michael Dease, London Jazz News
“[Virginia’s] playing is exemplary, with technical infallibility, a full focused sound, and dexterity reminiscent of Eddie Daniels. Her improvised lines are equally engaging, putting one in mind of what a young Branford Marsalis was pushing in the ’80s. It is refreshing to hear the clarinet making its mark so effectively in a contemporary jazz setting.” – Charles Rees, London Jazz News
Juno Award-winning clarinetist Virginia MacDonald has established herself as a rising star of her generation. Known for her lyrical and dynamic approach to the clarinet, Virginia has been described as playing “like a scholar, very refined with plenty of soul” by legendary New Orleans clarinetist Doreen Ketchens. As a highly in-demand bandleader, sidewoman, and composer, she keeps a regular performance schedule across Canada, the United States, and Europe, and can be found on stage at venues such as Koerner Hall, Ronnie Scott’s, Birdland, Smalls, Le Duc Des Lombards, and Dizzy’s Jazz Club. Virginia has performed at jazz festivals globally including appearances at Detroit Jazz Festival, Jaipur Jazz & Blues Festival, Rochester Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, and Toronto Jazz Festival, to name a few.
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. She was recently chosen as one of three finalists for the Toronto Art Foundation’s 2024 Breakthrough Jazz Artist Award. Some of her other accolades include receiving a Stingray Rising Star Award in 2019, and being named as one of three finalists for the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Jazz Artist Award in 2021. In 2023, she 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 Kirk Lightsey, Geoffrey Keezer, Ira Coleman, Michael Dease, Dick Oatts, Joe Magnarelli, Harold Mabern, Bruce Barth, Derrick Gardner, Rodney Whitaker, Xavier Davis, Quincy Davis, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Bill Cunliffe, Randy Napoleon, Jon Gordon, 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. She appeared 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”. She has been a recent and frequent collaborator of Grammy Award-winning trombonist Michael Dease and appeared on his 2023 album “The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill” and his 2024 release “Found in Space: The Music of Gregg Hill”. Her composition “Up High, Down Low” was featured on Michael Dease’s 2023 release “Swing Low”. Virginia has appeared on twenty-plus albums as a sidewoman.
Virginia’s debut album is set to be released in 2025 on Cellar Live. Comprised of original compositions for quartet, her band features luminaries Geoffrey Keezer on piano and Ira Coleman on bass, along with preeminent voices of the next generation, drummer Curtis Nowosad and vocalist Laura Anglade.
In addition to her busy performance schedule, Virginia is an in-demand educator and has worked as a visiting artist at universities and post-secondary music programs internationally including San Francisco Conservatory of Music, McGill University, University of Toronto, Laval University, Université de Sherbrooke, St. FX University, University of Manitoba, 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 D’Addario Woodwinds.