MARIKA GALEA

Known for her soulful audience interaction and distinctive sound, Marika Galea is a full scholarship student at Berklee College of Music, working toward a Bachelor of Music in performance and classical composition. She has been a student of John Lockwood, Susan Hagen (BSO), Darren Barrett,  John Patitucci, John Clayton, Dave Santoro, Ralph Peterson Jr., Neal Smith, Jetro Da Silva, Alain Mallet, Ben Street, Eddie Gomez and more since her enrolment in 2012.​ 

 

As a performer, Marika has worked with a number of highly acclaimed artists including Cyrus Chestnut, Steve Davis, and Bucky Pizzarelli. She has also opened for the likes of Branford Marsalis, Joey Calderazzo, Joey DeFrancesco, Al Jarreau and Randy Brecker.​​ Marika has sat in with countless musicians as a part of educational/festival programming (Renee Rosnes, Lewis Nash, Donny McCaslin, Benny Green, Jimmy Greene) and hopes to continue meeting and making music with her heroes.

 

Her compositions range from swinging hard bop tunes for quintet and lyrical songs for bands to 'classical' works for small ensemble. She prides herself in studying and working within a broad compostional scope.

 

A former student of the University of Toronto and the Humber College Community Music School, Marika has studied bass with Dave Young, Jon Maharaj, and Tim Dawson (TSO). She has also completed workshops with Toronto's best, including Kirk MacDonald, Chase Sanborn, William Carn, Kieran Overs, and Lorne Lofsky.​

 

Her high school years were filled by her study at Humber 'Community Music', as well as her positions with the Canadian Wind Orchestra, the JazzFM91 Youth Big Band, and her high school's ensembles.​​ Marika's successes include a National Honour Award, 5 Gold & 2 Silver Awards at Musicfest Canada's Nationals. In 2011, She was honoured with the Distillery Jazz Festival Scholarship and the Noreen & Phil Nimmons Entrance Scholarship to the University of Toronto. Marika earned a 2012 nomination for Berklee College of Music's prestigious Slaight Family Scholarship.​​

 

Marika has reviewed shows and interviewed artists for the Toronto Jazz Festival News Corps. She is the first student to host the Classic Rex Jazz Jam regularly at The Rex Hotel, Toronto's premier jazz venue. She has also worked as an educator through the University of Toronto's 'Jazz Downtown Workshop' and the National Music Camp of Canada.

 

2013 brought her entrance into Mission Jazz's "Fellowship of The Swing", an all-star artistic advance for young musicians held in the Southwestern USA. There, she has studied with Walter Smith III and Bob Reynolds. 

 

Her performance credits include Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, The Jazz Standard, Blues Alley DC, Jackie Maclean's Artist Collective, Smalls Jazz, The Rex, The Old Mill, and SOHO Santa Barbara.

 

Marika hopes to make music in Toronto, Boston and beyond for many years to come.

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