Don Macdonald Sextet

SHORT STORIES: Portraits in Jazz – featuring reimagined standards and selections from a new album by vocalist Don Macdonald

Don Macdonald is an internationally recognized composer of film and choral music, and he has an eclectic musical background as a performer, producer, and educator.

His diverse body of work spans music for theatre and dance, published choral works, and forays into everything from rock and jazz to world and folk music. A multiple Canadian Film Awards nominee and 3-time Leo Award winner, he has over 50 film music credits and has worked with many of the major studios including 20th Century Fox and Lions Gate Films. His orchestral score to the cult classic zombie film “Fido” won him the award for Best Soundtrack” at the Gerardmer Film Festival in France.

A multi-instrumentalist, Don has performed professionally on saxophone, violin, and voice. His deep connection to choral music, cultivated from a young age, permeates his compositions, with highlights such as the two-hour opera “KHAOS,” the Da Capo Chamber Choir New Works Competition winner “Tabula Rasa,” and the six-movement piece “High Flight,” commissioned by Chor Leoni Men’s choir during his three-year tenure as composer in residence. His choral works have been performed and recorded by many fine ensembles all over the world including Lyyra (Voces 8 Foundation, UK) Rajaton (Finland), the Vancouver Chamber Choir (Can), the Luther College Nordic Choir (USA), and Cantus (USA).

Don lives in Nelson, BC Canada, and teaches at the Selkirk College Contemporary Music and Technology Program.