Dr. Meghan Gilhespy, DMA

Meghan Gilhespy is an experimental vocalist and jazz scholar specializing in gender-critical jazz historiography. She researches the cultural politics of experimental jazz singing and is the first woman in Canada to obtain a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Jazz Studies. In addition to a long history of conventional jazz performance—including her own published album Vive Le Tour (2016), Gilhespy has done studio work for Netflix and The National Film Board of Canada, and presented multiple improvised performances with dancers, expanding her skills as an experimental vocal improviser. She is the Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Concordia University and has been a faculty member at the Creative Music Workshop since 2024.