Virginia MacDonald Quintet

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 an international reputation as a bandleader, sidewoman, and composer, and regularly performs across Canada, the United States, and Europe. In 2020, Virginia was chosen as the first-prize winner of the International Clarinet Competition, judged by several leading jazz clarinetists including Anat Cohen, Victor Goines, and Ken Peplowski. Virginia has performed on several albums with Juno Award-winning artists including Kirk MacDonald, Will Bonness, and Jocelyn Gould. Recently, Virginia appeared on Caity Gyorgy’s 2022 Juno Award-winning album “Now Pronouncing”. Virginia seeks to bring the clarinet back to the forefront of this music, in a modern setting, and hopes to challenge expectations of what the clarinet is capable of as an instrument.