LORNA MacDONALD enjoys a career of distinction as a respected soprano and voice teacher, and Full Professor at the University of Toronto where she holds the Lois Marshall Chair in Voice. Born in Cape Breton, NS, her career has led to performances across the US and Canada, in Wales, Taiwan, France, Ireland, the UK, Germany, and Bermuda. Her 2006 CBC concert of Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate and Buxtehude’s Singet den Herrn with Musique Royale was reviewed, “MacDonald’s freshness of tone, her clarity of style and diction, and her beautifully expressive musicianship are served by a perfection of technical mastery which allows her to sing both softly and full on any note in her entire range, as meaning and emotional imagery require.” (Halifax Herald)
Past performance seasons have included Bach cantatas and St. John Passion, Carmina Burana, Poulenc’s Gloria, Brahms’ Requiem, and Mozart’s Mass in C minor. Her performances of Jauchzet Gott were described “fiery soprano MacDonald dazzles”(Halifax), andother reviewers have written, …“showcasing the expressive voice of soprano Lorna MacDonald” (Toronto Star)…“an absolute jewel” (Edmonton Journal) “astonishing in its brightness, agility and projection” (Halifax Herald). Performances and master classes in 2007 include Los Angeles, Princeton, Kingston, San Antonio, Portland (OR), Toronto, and Chicago, and Philadelphia, Shanghai (China) and Illinois. She taught at Westminster Choir College (USA) from 1988-94, and from 1994-2006 she served as Head of Voice Studies at the University of Toronto, where her record was recognized with Ontario’s prestigious OCUFA Award for “teaching excellence and outstanding contributions to university teaching”. Opera, art song, and voice science are among her passions, and with students performing on stages in Europe, Canada and the US, she says “I have achieved a professional balance between education and performance that makes them almost indistinguishable to me.”
