Marika Galea (mar-REE-kuh GAHL-yuh) is an Assistant Professor of Jazz and Contemporary Popular Music at Brandon University, where she teaches bass, improvisation, composition, arranging and pedagogy.

Her original music can be heard on her 2020 album, Nuance.

A sampling of her collaborations can be heard on the playlists, Marika plays bass on… and Marika sings/speaks on…

Best known for her versatility as a bassist, her work as a performer and recording artist spans jazz, pop, folk, indie, alternative, rock, rap, hip hop, “new music” (i.e. contemporary classical), “world” (i.e. non-western) and experimental genres. Recognized in Downbeat Magazine’s 2025 Critics’ Poll as a Rising Star on electric bass, and as one of CBC Music’s 35 best Canadian jazz artists under 35, Galea has worked with major artists such as U.S. Girls, Jake Clemons (Springsteen’s E Street Band), Tim Kingsbury (Arcade Fire), Basia Bulat, Cyrus Chestnut and Ralph Peterson Jr.

Projects she has collaborated on have been nominated for (or won) JUNO, Golden Globe, Academy, Polaris, Iris, RIDM and HotDocs Awards. Her work has been funded by SSHRC, FACTOR, 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. Her collaborative work has also been funded by Canada Council for the Arts, Creative BC, le Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec, Musicaction, les Fonds de recherche du Québec, the Whitehead Foundation and Arts Council Malta.

In addition to her creative practices as a performer, composer and producer, her current research project explores inclusive methods of music notation was selected for presentation at the Jazz Education Network in Atlanta, GA in 2025.

She serves her musical and academic communities as an adjudicator, clinician and juror, through a variety of committees, and as Vice Chair of Instrumental Jazz with Musicfest Canada.

She has been on faculty at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Berklee College of Music‘s Groove School, McGill University, McGill Conservatory and Prince Edward County Jazz Festival. She continues to teach as a guest through organizations such as McGill Executive Institute (Desautels Faculty of Management), Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes, the University of Manitoba and Malta Jazz Festival.