Aaron Jensen (he/him) is an award-winning Toronto-based composer, producer, performer, and clinician with a single-minded passion for collaboration, exploration, and community building. His music has been recorded and performed by GRAMMY and JUNO award-winning artists including Randy Brecker, Mariah Carey, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Ron Sexsmith, Heather Rankin and Natalie MacMaster. Jensen’s flair for vocal music, obsession with language, and penchant for interweaving musical genres can be heard throughout his body of work. Aaron had the pleasure of acting as musical director, music producer, band leader, and composer for the nine-time Emmy award winning, Schitt’s Creek. His musical services have been enlisted by Andrea Bocelli, Kevin Hearn, Bob Ezrin, and Barack and Michelle Obama.
Recent contributions to the theatre world include: Armchair Confidential, (music/lyrics/book) which was workshopped by Arts Club Theatre in 2022; The Trial of Bastiano di Bologna (music/lyrics/book), which was produced by the WEBBY award-winning New York City musical theatre podcast, Bite-Sized Broadway, featuring a cast of Broadway performers and a Renaissance-era pit band (2021); and Henry Box Brown (co-written music and lyrics) which was optioned for Broadway in 2022 and was directed by TONY award-winner Ben Harney.
Aaron has contributed to platinum-selling, GRAMMY/JUNO award-nominated albums, and has earned several international CARA awards and nominations for his original music. He has twice been recognized by the International John Lennon Songwriting Competition, including a grand prize win for Best Jazz Composition. Jensen’s new works have been premiered by celebrated choirs – such as the Swingle Singers (UK), Zvonky Praha (CZECHIA), and Voices of Namibia (NAMIBIA) – and by symphony orchestras including the TUCCA Philharmonic (BRAZIL), Orchestra Teatro Puccini, (ITALY) and Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg (FRANCE). As a performer, he’s shared the stage with the likes of Bobby McFerrin, Gordon Lightfoot, Ben Folds, and Michael Burgess, and recorded vocals for the BAFTA-nominated video game Cuphead:The Delicious Last Course. His film scores have been featured at film festivals across Canada, the US, and Europe. He’s acted as musical director/content creator for companies including Chapters/Indigo, Zoomer Media, 20th Century Fox, Cineplex, Major League Baseball, The Greater Toronto Airport Authority, and Entertainment One.
Since completing his studies in music composition at York University in 2006, Aaron has toured the world and recorded six celebrated albums with Cadence, Countermeasure, Retrocity, and The Watch. Jensen is the Artistic and Musical Director of Countermeasure, the Artist-in-Residence at Beth Sholom Synagogue, an Associate Composer of the CMC, and the Artistic Director Emeritus of SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival.