AFTER DARK: VIRGINIA MACDONALD QUARTET with Tilden Webb, Jodi Proznick, & John Lee

Known for her lyrical and soulful clarinet playing, Virginia MacDonald has been described as a “powerful new voice in the Canadian scene” by Juno Award-winning bassist Mike Downes. Born and raised in Toronto, Virginia began playing clarinet at the age of seven. She has since established herself as a highly in-demand bandleader, sidewoman, and composer, and regularly performs 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 Cambridge Jazz Festival, the Jaipur Jazz & Blues Festival, the Toronto Jazz Festival, the Ottawa Jazz Festival, and the Halifax Jazz Festival. In 2020, Virginia toured India with the Kirk MacDonald Generations Quartet.

Virginia has recorded and performed with esteemed artists including Michael Dease, Geoffrey Keezer, Ira Coleman, Harold Mabern, Kirk MacDonald, Neil Swainson, Terry Clarke, and Bernie Senensky. Frequent collaborators include up-and-coming musicians such as Sanah Kadoura, Laura Anglade, Lucian Gray, Jocelyn Gould, and Will Bonness. She appeared on Juno Award-winning saxophonist Kirk MacDonald’s 2015 big band release, Common Ground, and his 2018 release with the great Harold Mabern, Generations: Ballads & Standards. In 2020, Virginia was selected as the first-prize winner of the International Clarinetist Corona Competition; judges included Grammy Award-nominated artists Anat Cohen and Victor Goines. Virginia recently appeared on Caity Gyorgy’s 2022 Juno Award-winning album “Now Pronouncing”.

In addition to her busy performance schedule, Virginia is an in-demand educator and has given workshops at universities and post-secondary music programs internationally. She has led masterclasses at McGill University, St. FX University, University of Toronto, the Global Music Institute, and the True School of Music. Virginia is on the faculty at the Bob Mover Academy of Music, alongside jazz legends such as Charles MacPherson, Sheila Jordan, and Billy Drummond.

Virginia is an endorsed artist for Buffet Crampon and Rovner.