PURCHASE CD

Nadina Mackie Jackson

Nadina is a solo bassoonist and artist based in Toronto. Her career has taken her around the world as a soloist, chamber player, orchestral musician and teacher. She gives frequent recitals, both solo and with the pianist David Swan and has released three critically acclaimed solo CDs on her own label, Odd Bird Studios: Notes from Abroad, 2004, Ever After, 2003 and Twelve Fantasias, 2002 by G. P. Telemann, 2002.

An avid chamber musician, Nadina has founded several chamber music groups during her career, notably the Caliban Quartet of Bassoonists which has released three CDs: Bassoonatics,1997, Musica Viva; Feast, 2000, BIS Northern Lights; Caliban Does Christmas, 2005 ATMA. Nadina has performed at many festivals, including the Montreal Baroque Festival, Ottawa Chamber Festival, Domaine Forget and the Edinburgh Festival.

As an historical bassoonist, Nadina plays and records with the Aradia Ensemble on several recordings appearing on the Naxos label. Nadina has also performed with Ensemble Caprice, Tafelmusik, the Handel & Haydn Society of Boston and Apollo’s Fire. As a modern orchestral bassoonist, Nadina is a frequent guest with Violons du Roy, and played for many years with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, participating in over 50 recordings, and as principal bassoonist with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra.

The daughter of the log−building pioneers and writers, B. Allan Mackie and Mary Mackie, Nadina began her life on a mountain ranch in the wilds of British Columbia. At the age of sixteen, Nadina started her tutored studies with Christopher Millard at the University of British Columbia and continued at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Bernard Garfield and Sol Schoenbach. Nadina toured France with her woodwind quintet and won positions with two orchestras before her graduation in 1981.

Nadina has taught at several festivals, including Domaine Forget, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and the Camp Musical des Laurentides and has given masterclasses in Philadelphia, Bloomington, Santiago and Toronto. She has taught for over a decade at the University of Toronto and is also on faculty at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Before that, she taught at McGill University for ten years, and has former students in several of Canada’s major orchestras.

Nadina enjoys bringing her performances to unusual venues, particularly natural settings, gardens, small historical churches and one room schools. Nadina believes that the future of classical music lies solely in the hands of the musicians who love it the most, and who live to perform the masterworks of all periods.

"Jackson performs with effortless musicality and integrity, making the bassoon sound like a human voice..."

− The National Post, 2004