JazzFest – Virginia MacDonald Quartet

Part of the 2026 Toronto Jazz Festival. More information from Toronto Jazz Festival Virginia MacDonald is a Juno Award-winning clarinetist, composer, and educator recognized as one of the leading voices of her generation. Praised by legendary clarinetist Doreen Ketchens for playing “like a scholar, very refined with plenty of soul,” MacDonald is known for her lyrical and dynamic approach to the clarinet. Originally from Toronto and now based in New York City, she maintains an active international performance career across North America and Europe. MacDonald has appeared at renowned venues including Birdland, Smalls Jazz Club, and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, and has performed at major festivals such as the Toronto Jazz Festival and Montreal International Jazz Festival. She has collaborated and recorded with acclaimed artists including Michael Dease, Dick Oatts, Geoffrey Keezer, and Harold Mabern. In 2020, MacDonald won the International Clarinetist Corona Competition and later headlined ClarinetFest 2023. Her debut album, In Search Of…, will be released on May 29, 2026 through Cellar Music. In addition to performing on more than twenty albums, she is an in-demand educator and serves on faculty at the Brevard Music Center.