Martin MacDonald

Martin MacDonald (born June 14, 1977) is an award-winning Canadian conductor.

Born on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, MacDonald is the youngest of 12 children. MacDonald's training began at the age of six with cello, violin and piano. He is an alumnus of both the Nova Scotia and Newfoundland youth orchestras. MacDonald has a diverse musical background with a strong Celtic music tradition in his heritage – he has toured and performed Celtic music extensively with members of his family throughout Europe and North America.

MacDonald completed his Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting at McGill University in Montréal, and his Bachelor’s degree in Cello at Memorial University in St. John's. At McGill, he assisted both the McGill Symphony Orchestra and Opera McGill; and conducted the Contemporary Music Ensemble. In St. John's he conducted extensively and was a cellist with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra from 1997-2004. MacDonald has studied conducting with Bernhard Gueller at SNS; Boris Brott at the National Academy; Alexis Hauser at McGill; with Michael Jinbo at the Pierre Monteux School; and in workshops with Kenneth Kiesler, Gustav Meier, Jorma Panula, and Johannes Schlaefli.

MacDonald has recently been named Associate Conductor of Symphony Nova Scotia for the 2013-2014 season. MacDonald served as Resident Conductor of Symphony Nova Scotia from 2008-2011. In three seasons with SNS he conducted over one hundred performances including his debut on the flagship Celebrity series, led the orchestra on tours, covered all concerts and repertoire, and several of his performances were recorded and broadcast nationally on CBC Concerts on Demand. This mentorship position, under the guidance of Bernhard Gueller, was supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.

In 2010, MacDonald was awarded the Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestral Conducting, awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts for his work with Symphony Nova Scotia.

MacDonald served as Associate Conductor of the National Academy Orchestra of Canada (based in Hamilton, Ontario) to Boris Brott, Artistic Director for three seasons. MacDonald conducted on every performance in repertoire ranging from classical, ballet, opera, pops, education, and contemporary repertoire including world premieres of some works. MacDonald was closely mentored by Boris Brott in this national training program. MacDonald returns to the NAOC on a regular basis to guest conduct and mentor young professional musicians.

In addition to his conducting roles with the NAO, MacDonald managed the orchestra and played a key role in programming, artistic development, auditions, and coordination of this national training program.

MacDonald maintains a growing guest conducting schedule conducting several orchestras across Canada, and since March 2011 he is represented by Latitude 45 Arts Promotion, Inc., one of Canada's largest classical music artist management agencies.

MacDonald resides in Toronto, Ontario.