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Kerilie McDowall
Jazz guitarist, Polaris Music Prize juror, Former DownBeat contributor, 12x Award-winning 10x nominated short TV movie Director, Short Filmmaker, former Rhythm'a'ning jazz radio host.
About Me
Kerilie McDowall, a jazz guitarist/composer, and 13x international award-winning jazz Filmmaker is a past TV
Director and a jazz radio producer/host (17 years). Altogether she has won 16 awards in music, film, jazz
guitar/composition with six from the USA.
(https://filmfreeway.com/KerilieMcDowall)
McDowall is a York University music graduate, and a film/guitar/musician/writer coach/instructor and is a Polaris
Music Prize juror and DownBeat Critics Poll judge. She is the winner of Nanaimo's 2024 WIN Women of Influence
Creative Innovator Award for her film, In the Zone Rick Kilburn, and is the writer of the In the Zen
blog.
Kerilie McDowall is additionally a freelance and a national music writer. She is the owner of Canadian Online Guitar
Lessons & Creative Services, and as a past publicist is a recording musician’s self-empowerment Canadian music
industry instructor and coach. She also enjoys teaching and mentoring guitarists.
McDowall was a DownBeat music writer contributor monthly until the 2020 pandemic. She was a jazz
bandleader-guitarist and composer for over a decade (1989-2000) in Vancouver. McDowall's jazz, lifestyle, and
arts blog, In the Zen, features jazz and creative interviews, lifestyle, gardening, and health news. McDowall is still
judging as a DownBeat Critics Poll critic and Polaris Music Prize judge. She works with rising star and JUNO Award
and Order of Canada-winning recording artists and aspiring young musicians.
McDowall's film In the Zone: Rick Kilburn reached 13 million hits in 2023, and was at 12.7 million hits in February
2024 and she ranked as #1 in Nanaimo on Alignable in 2024 as #39th in the contest for #1 Biz Person in North
America ranking as the 20th overall woman on the popular business networking site with 8 million members.
What made McDowall's short jazz film unique was that it was designed for social media, YouTube, and TV
simultaneously with royalty-free photos, artists with extra photos/films, music and live music shooting additionally
thanks to the Kilburn estate.
McDowall has played music since age 4/5, performing professionally at age 16/17, and was a jazz guitarist-
bandleader in Vancouver, BC, from 1989-2000, is a freelance writer (DownBeat 2016-20), All About Jazz since
2021, INSPIRED 55+ since 2018, and more. She began writing and illustrating intuitively at age 7/8, an
experimenter for years, she started writing music more formally at age 13.
McDowall was a jazz radio host, producer and live engineer of the #1 Google-ranked (2013-15) Rhythm'a'ning
from 1989-90, and 2000-2016.
McDowall enjoys assisting others and passing along knowledge. She is savvy in the areas of film and guitar, and
events publicity/the press assisting non-profits and recording artists with savings and expertise. She enjoys
assisting new film directors and filmmakers as a coach and instructor. She recently spoke to women at the
Women's Spirit Festival about the Joy of Music & Improvisation and Positive Manifestation.
McDowall started as a professional guitarist 40 years ago and is still working as a Nanaimo guitar, film, and music
industry instructor while serving nationally and internationally as a music judge.
A guitarist-jazz bandleader and instructor in Vancouver, BC for over a decade, Kerilie came to Vancouver Island in
2000. Her passions are music composing, teaching, organic gardening, and writing. For 24 years, McDowall has
been tremendously inspired working with gifted students, creatives, and award-winning JUNO/Polaris musicians.
She is proud of her students and the excellence that they have achieved. One of McDowall's recording artist
coaching students was most recently nominated for a 2024 JUNO Award.
McDowall continues to enjoy passing along knowledge to emerging creatives, musicians, and new filmmakers and
working within the music industry.