The saxophonist Laura Macdonald, the former wife of saxophonist Tommy Smith, has been appointed Head of Jazz at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Smith, who established the Glasgow college’s jazz course in 2009, had held the post until June 2025, when he was dismissed over allegations of a relationship with a female student, as reported by the Herald and in the Daily Mail in June 2025. Macdonald became the interim head on Smith’s departure.
Macdonald, born in Prestwick in Ayrshire, began playing alto saxophone at 16 and was given a full scholarship to Berklee School of Music in Boston, where she studied with George Garzone and Bill Pierce and won the college’s annual Excellence in Performance award. In 1997 she was the first Scottish Young Jazz Musician of the Year and the following year became lead alto player in the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra.
She has released several CDs, including Laura (2000, Spartacus, featuring James Genus and Jeff “Tain” Watts) and Awakenings (2004, Spartacus, featuring Antonio Sanchez and Donny McCaslin).
Outside music, McDonald was a finalist in the 2021 series of BBC’s MasterChef. She told the Courier “Jazz musicians should cook, in the sense of playing exciting solos, but I actually find cooking and music quite similar. They’re both creative. When you’re improvising a saxophone solo, you’re drawing on the knowledge you’ve gained with experience but making something new.”
