Hi, I’m Marika Galea (MAR-ree-kuh GALL-yuh).
I make music and empower others to grow, create and tell their story through my teaching, speaking and facilitator roles. I also curate concerts and masterclasses, providing platforms for collaboration and celebration between artists, art forms, and generations.
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Marika Galea is a bassist, composer and educator from Scarborough, Ontario. Her performance work spans jazz, pop, folk, indie, hip hop, new music and experimental genres, earning her a 2025 nomination in Downbeat Magazine’s Critics Poll (Rising Star on Electric Bass).
She is a tenured assistant professor of jazz and contemporary popular music at Brandon University. Marika also shares frequently as a guest lecturer/artist at music festivals, institutions of higher education and intensive programs around the world (ie. Monterey Jazz Festival, Berklee College of Music, McGill Conservatory, Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes, Prince Edward County Jazz Festival, Malta Jazz Festival). She holds a Bachelor of Music from Berklee College of Music (composition, contemporary conducting, performance) and a Master of Music (jazz performance) from McGill University.
Musical projects she has collaborated on have been nominated for (or won) JUNO, Golden Globe, Academy, Polaris, Iris, RIDM and HotDocs Awards. She has secured funding for her works through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings, Manitoba Arts Council, McGill University, Berklee College of Music (Lennie Johnson, Richard Levy), the University of Toronto (Phil and Noreen Nimmons, Distillery Jazz Festival) and Brandon University (Mary Smart, BURC).
Marika has also curated a number of performances in the featuring diverse performers, including Claire Morrison (Canada), Tommy Crane (USA), Carlo Muscat (Ukraine), Witness Matlou (South Africa) and Tetyana Haraschuk (Spain).
Artists Marika has worked with as a supporting musician include but are not limited to:
Terence Blanchard, Cyrus Chestnut, Warren Wolf, Jason Palmer, Jean-Michel Pilc, Vincent Herring, Philip Harper, Rachel Therrien, Yannick Rieu, Yves Léveillé, L’Orchestre national du jazz de Montréal, Ralph Peterson Jr., Basia Bulat, Tim Kingsbury (Arcade Fire), Aerialists, Mackenzie Shivers, Thus Owls, Jake Clemons (E Street Band), U.S. Girls, Laura Niquay, Gregory Groover Jr, Erin Propp, Joanna Majoko, Andres Vial, Sonia Johnson, Dean McNeill, Eloa Goncalves, Diogo Peixoto, Oktoecho (Katia Makdissi-Warren).