Teacher Profile: Chelsea McBride

About Chelsea McBride

Driven by an endless need for creative expression, composer and multi-instrumentalist Chelsea McBride is making her mark on both Canadian and American jazz scenes. Now based in Miami, McBride recently conducted at the Perth International Jazz Festival and the Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival in support of her latest big band recording, Aftermath. She also completed an 11-city cross-Canada tour with her big band, Chelsea McBride's Socialist Night School, in the summer of 2018, and has performed at prominent festivals such as JazzYYC, the Halifax Jazz Festival, and the TD Toronto Jazz Festival. Recognized as one of Canada’s top 35 jazz musicians under 35 by CBC, McBride was also the inaugural recipient of the Toronto Arts Foundation's Emerging Jazz Artist Award.

Born and raised in Vancouver, B.C., Chelsea was immersed in music from a young age, starting piano at 3 and saxophone in elementary school. By the end of high school, she had competed at provincial and national levels. Chelsea pursued formal music studies, earning a Bachelor of Music from Humber College and a Master of Music in Jazz Arranging from William Paterson University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Studio Jazz Writing at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music, where she continues to impress with her mature sound and complex compositions.

Whether leading her big band (Chelsea McBride’s Socialist Night School), her pop-jazz sextet (Chelsea and the Cityscape), or her jazz trio (Chelsea McBride Group), Chelsea is a versatile musician who defies creative boundaries. She maintains a busy performance schedule across North America and has released three albums with Chelsea and the Cityscape and three with her Socialist Night School.