Ken MacDonald

Acclaimed as a "French horn master" by the Toronto Star, Ken MacDonald has performed in every province with a variety of Canada's top ensembles. MacDonald is proud to teach at the University of Manitoba and to have had students who are now enjoying professional success as musicians. He has served as a Mentor at the National Academy Orchestra and an adjudicator for the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory.

Performance highlights

MacDonald is currently Associate Principal horn with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, having played principal horn with the Hamilton Philharmonic (for seventeen seasons), Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. He has also performed as a guest artist with the Vancouver Symphony, the Canadian Opera Company, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra London, the Victoria Symphony, and the Regina Symphony, to name but a few.

Ongoing research and creative works

MacDonald is a Certified Trainer with the Focusing Institute in New York, and he has given and attended national workshops on the topic of integrated, holistic teaching approaches. He is a National Arts Centre Teaching Artist and, in co-operation with the Winnipeg Symphony, has traveled to several of Manitoba's northern communities for educational workshops with composer and conductor Andrew Balfour.

As a chamber musician, MacDonald has enjoyed longstanding associations with the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, Ontario, and with the national touring ensemble Octagon, who were featured in Winnipeg's Virtuosi Concerts in 2015. Solo appearances include the Winnipeg Symphony, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and national CBC broadcasts of newly-commissioned works. He has also taught at McMaster University and Hillfield-Strathallan College, and has led masterclasses at the University of Toronto and Brandon University.