Appointed as Associate Professor in performance and music education in July 2005, Dr. Gillian MacKay took over conducting duties of the Wind Ensemble as well as teaching trumpet and conducting. Prior to joining the Faculty she was Director of the School of Music at the University of Windsor.

Gillian has an active professional career as a conductor, adjudicator, clinician and trumpeter. She has conducted honour ensembles throughout Canada and the United States, and is Associate Conductor of the Denis Wick Canadian Wind Orchestra. Dr. MacKay has adjudicated Canadian band festivals at local, provincial, and national levels in Canada. She has conducted honour bands and judged competitions in the US, Singapore, Thailand, and Korea.
Currently, she is investigating the application of the Michael Chekhov acting technique to movement and meaning in conducting. Recognized as a conducting pedagogue, Gillian leads the University of Toronto Wind Conducting Symposium each July.
For an excellent look at her philosophy of teaching, performing, and her story as a musician, graduate Dylan Rook Maddix (MMus 2016) interviewed Dr. MacKay in September 2017 for his podcast The Band Room.
See Dr. MacKay lead the Wind Ensemble this Saturday, February 2 at 7:30 pm in MacMillan Theatre. It will be a collaborative effort with percussion professors Aiyun Huang and Beverley Johnston as well as the strings of the UTSO.