Virginia MacDonald Quartet featuring special guest Ira Coleman

Virginia MacDonald - clarinet, Sam Kirmayer - guitar, Ira Coleman - bass, Valerie Lacombe - drums

Concert length is approximately 75 minutes.

In Person Concert - Tickets $25, Masks and Proof-of-Vax Receipt required. GigSpace will have 30 seats available.

Beverage sales are contactless payment (credit or debit). Doors open at 7:15 PM

Live Stream Concert - Tickets $19, view from your home. Streamed in real time or can be viewed later.  Login information will be sent via email.

Thank you to The Blue Pearl Foundation and Karen Oxorn for co-sponsoring this concert!

2019 Stingray Rising Star Award recipient and 2020 International Clarinetist Corona Competition first prize winner Virginia MacDonald has established herself as a respected and sought after musician in the Canadian jazz scene. Virginia has worked extensively as a leader and side woman at several venues across Toronto including Koerner Hall, The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, The Jazz Bistro, and The Rex Hotel. She has performed in Canadian and International jazz festivals including The Cambridge Jazz Festival, the Jaipur Jazz & Blues Festival, the TD Toronto Jazz Festival, the TD Markham Jazz Festival and the Cape Breton Jazz Festival.

Virginia has had the opportunity to work internationally in the United States, India, and Europe. Recently, Virginia appeared on Juno Award-winning saxophonist Kirk MacDonald's album "Generations" alongside the great Harold Mabern. 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.

In addition to her busy performance schedule, Virginia is an in-demand educator and has given masterclasses at McGill University, the Global Music Institute, and the True School of Music. Virginia is a faculty member at the Bob Mover Academy of Music.

https://virginiamacdonald.ca/

About Ira Coleman

Ira Coleman was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Raised in Southern France, Ira thereafter lived in Germany for fourteen years. While in Germany, Ira Coleman studied double bass at Cologne’s Hochschule für Musik and subsequently came a move to the US to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Ira’s resumé tells the story. Currently residing in Rhinebeck, NY, over the years he has worked with such well-known figures as Cab Calloway, Freddie Hubbard, Betty Carter, Milt Jackson, Branford Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Jessye Norman, Grover Washington Jr., Barbara Hendricks, Sting, Kathleen Battle, The Carnegie Hall Jazz Ensemble, and The Duke Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Mercer Ellington, among many others. He was musical director for vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and toured with her internationally from 2002 until 2009.

One night he’s on the stage at Carnegie Hall playing in a tribute to African-American culture. The next morning he is on a plane to Europe to collaborate on a recording or heading to Japan for a jazz festival. As comfortable playing Jamaican rhythms as he is accompanying a gospel choir or performing in a Jazz trio, this professional bass player has built an international reputation for versatility.