On Thursday night, a mix of more than 50 of them (and their closest friends, family members and extraterrestrial visitors) gathered at the patio of Petra’s Arts Kafe and listened to the [...]]]> Jazz is kind of like a different language and the people who play jazz are a different breed, maybe even a different species altogether.

On Thursday night, a mix of more than 50 of them (and their closest friends, family members and extraterrestrial visitors) gathered at the patio of Petra’s Arts Kafe and listened to the music, whether they were fluent or not.

They sat outside by the palm trees with their sun umbrellas, lawn chairs and smoothies for a two-hour open jam jazz session put on by a mix of amateur and professional musicians — a night that has now become tradition at the seventh annual South Delta Jazz Festival.

The atmosphere was a little otherworldly, with the sun and the saxophones and the music carrying across 12th Avenue, and to an outsider it was definitely an out-of-this-world experience.

In July 2004, the Delta Community Music School, along with instructors Jared Burrows and Stephen Robb, planted the seeds for this night when they founded the first annual jazz festival. Since then, it has grown to become a staple of the summer months like the Sun Festival, the Tour de Delta and skimboarding at Centennial Beach.

For one week, music students of all ages take part in workshops that teach them the subtle nuances of improvisational jazz, and the culmination is that one night, out in the sun, when 12-year-old bass players jam alongside 50-year-old saxophonists.

The positive benefits that each student and teacher, along with the community, gain from the South Delta Jazz Festival cannot be measured in any tangible form, but they also cannot be denied.

What’s unfortunate, then, is that like countless other arts programs in our province, the Delta Community Music School and the jazz festival lost significant financial support from the government of B.C. when it cut gaming grants.

They’ve secured private sponsors, sure, and they cut costs where they can, but harbouring the talents of young musicians doesn’t come cheap. (Through it all, they even manage to offer scholarships so students who can’t afford the cost of the workshops can still attend.)

I asked one of the more experienced performers why he was at Petra’s playing jazz on a Thursday night and he suggested that maybe it was because he was dropped on his head as a baby. Or maybe it was the drugs. (I learned that night that jazz players also know the subtle nuances of self-deprecation.)

Arts grants are just a slice of the province’s budget, yet they contribute to an important part of Canada’s social fabric. Sometimes, you need a jazz jam session out on the streets to remind people of that.
© Copyright (c) Delta Optimist

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In the afternoon, all the groups [...]]]> Friday was a great day at the workshop and festival with two performances. Lunchtime with Al Matheson with the faculty band, followed by the evening concert with Len Aruliah and Jared Burrows.  Both performances were well received with a standing ovation for the band in the evening performance.  Well done!

In the afternoon, all the groups worked together with Alan as he visited our 6 workshop bands in rehearsal.

Saturday saw us make final preparations for our student performances under the tents at Delta Hospital. Our students performed  really well, and some really exciting performances were heard this afternoon on a great Saturday afternoon on the hospital grounds.

Our Thursday night Jam at Petra’s was wonderful. We enjoyed a warm summer evening here [...]]]> Thursday was day 3 of this year’s workshop and festival.  Our lunch time concert featured some innovative arrangements featuring the music of Rob Kohler with the Infinitus String Trio.  Len Aruliah and Jared also joined in for this concert.

Our Thursday night Jam at Petra’s was wonderful. We enjoyed a warm summer evening here on the westcoast, and large number of our workshop students participated in the performance.  Over 100 people attended throughout the evening and heard some great live jazz from our workshop students.

At noon today (Friday July 9th) we feature Alan Matheson with our workshop faculty. He has worked with a variety of local groups including the Vancouver Symphony, Vancouver Opera orchestra and Fred Stride’s Big Band, and is the leader of his own big band, nonet and septet.

Mr. Matheson studied with Vincent Cichowicz and has performed with such renowned artists as Clark Terry, Phil Woods and Louis Bellson. His compositions and arrangements have been performed by Martin Hackleman, Julia Nolan and Clark Terry. He has also been featured on C.B.C. Radio, and at the Montréal, Paris and Tartu (Estonia) Jazz Festivals. Mr. Matheson has also recorded a CD titled Intrada. Matheson has taught at the Otava, Finland Jazz Camp (2008).

On Friday evening the Len Aruliah Quartet performs at the All Saints Anglican Church. Admission is $10 at the door.

Tomorrow’s noon hour concert will feature saxophonist Rob Kohler with some original arrangements and compositions. This [...]]]> Day 2 of the workshop and festival was another busy day of music making. Today the faculty band was featured in a concert at the Kin House.  Len featured a few of his new compositions with the faculty band.

Tomorrow’s noon hour concert will feature saxophonist Rob Kohler with some original arrangements and compositions. This year we are fortunate to have the string trio Infinitus in residence with us.  They will be performing tomorrow with Rob and faculty.

Tomorrow evening (Thursday) is the open jazz jam session at Petra’s Kafe in Tsawwassen. Come out and enjoy some live jazz, and of course – bring your horn!

Our lunch time event featured our faculty performing together. This year we welcome [...]]]> Today was the first day of our 2010 Festival, the seventh annual South Delta Jazz Festival and Workshop.  More than 30 students have now registered for this year’s event, and we are underway with a full day of workshop, and two festival performances.

Our lunch time event featured our faculty performing together. This year we welcome back Len Aruliah, Rob Kohler, Stan Taylor, Brad Muirhead, Jared Burrows and Stephen Robb as workshop faculty. All took part in today’s concert.

This evening our senior students took part in a concert at Diefenbaker Park in Tsawwassen featuring the Bossa Boys. Again a good crowd of about 75 enjoyed the first really nice evening of summer that we have had to take in some nice tunes from our workshop participants.

Delta Optimist Article

This is important information.  Please read all of it!

I hope you are all looking forward to the South Delta Jazz Workshop as much as we are!  We have a great week of music, learning, and fun planned for everyone.

The workshop begins Tuesday, July 6 at 9:30 am.

We will meet at Delta Community Music [...]]]> Greetings Jazz Workshop Participants,

This is important information.  Please read all of it!

I hope you are all looking forward to the South Delta Jazz Workshop as much as we are!  We have a great week of music, learning, and fun planned for everyone.

The workshop begins Tuesday, July 6 at 9:30 am.

We will meet at Delta Community Music School at 4705 Arthur Drive in Ladner.

• Please do not be late as we will have a lot to do on the first day!
• If you have a drum set or other large gear to unload, please come at 9:00am
• Parents, please plan to stick around for the first 15 minutes or so.

As usual we have a wide range of students from beginner level high school players through to very advanced players.  Students will be assigned ensembles to work with on the first day. Placement may change as we get to know your abilities, needs, and personalities.  Our full-time faculty members will rotate among the groups on a daily basis.  We expect a high level of courtesy and respect among all participants in the Workshop.  We have never had any behaviour problems in the past and we hope to keep it that way again this year.

Payment of Fees

Please be sure you have paid the full workshop fee BEFORE the workshop starts.  In the event that you are unable to take care of this before the workshop, bring a cheque for the outstanding fees on the first day.

Please bring everything you will need for making music:

• extra reeds, valve oil,  patch cables, picks, strings, rosin, staff paper, pencils and eraser.
• Drummers, bass players, and guitarists are requested to bring their own amplifiers and drum kits wherever possible.  This equipment can be left at the workshop for the duration. The main building is locked and alarmed at night.  If you don’t have what you need, please contact Jared Burrows immediately (ph. 604-294-3714) so we can arrange to have the gear on hand.  We will have 2 drum kits and a few bass and guitar amplifiers available for those who don’t have their own.
• We will have music stands and acoustic pianos
• Make sure all of your gear is labelled clearly so it doesn’t get lost.

All students should bring a lunch and a snack or two.  There is very limited time for students to purchase a lunch from the mall as lunch time is also concert time with our guest artists and faculty and all students are required to attend the these concerts.  Food is important for an event of this kind.  We strongly suggest that you bring something healthy that will provide you with the energy you will need for a very full day of music making.

Daily Schedule of Events:

9:30 – 10:20      Aural Skills

10:20 -10:30      Break

10:30 – 11:30    Improvisation Class/Ensemble Rehearsal 1

11:30 – 12:00    Lunch and noon concert set-up time

12:00 – 1:15      Noon Concert (you can keep eating while you listen!)

1:15 – 2:45        masterclasses with guest artists and faculty

2:45 – 3:00        Break

3:00 – 4:30        Ensemble Rehearsal 2

Facilties

Delta Community Music School has now moved into McKee House at 4705 Arthur Drive.  We will be using this building as our primary facility with 5 classrooms.  For noon concerts and some rehearsals we will use the hall at Ladner Community Centre and on Wednesday we will use Kin House. Both of these are just a few meters away from the Music School.

Faculty

We have reached our maximum enrolment this year so we will have 6 full time faculty members plus 2 teaching assistants.  Faculty members will rotate among the ensembles throughout the week so that all the students should be able to work with all the faculty members.

Our faculty members are superb musicians and experienced teachers.  Our teaching assistants are also excellent players and are recent graduates from Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies programs at Berklee College of Music and Capilano University.

Rob Kohler – bass/strings

Stephen Robb – piano/clarinet/saxes

Len Aruliah – saxophones

Brad Muirhead – trombone

Jared Burrows – guitar

Stan Taylor – drums

Ben Appenheimer – teaching assistant (bass)

Chris Peterson – teaching assistant (guitar)

EVENTS

Advanced Student Concert at Diefenbaker Park

Our advanced students and TAs will be playing at Diefenbaker Park in Tsawwassen on July 6 at 7pm.  Come and enjoy an evening in the park listening to music.

Jam Session at Petra’s Arts Kafe

Thursday July 8 from 7-9pm is our workshop jam session.  This is open to workshop participants and to anyone in the community who plays jazz.   This is a really fun part of the workshop and something all should plan to attend if possible.   Drum kit, keyboard, bass and guitar amps will be provided.

Final Student Concert Information

Saturday’s schedule will be a little different as the student concert will take place from 12-3pm at the Delta Hospital Grounds.  Our final performance will be part of the Delta Hospital Foundation Summer Gala.   Parents, spouses, and friends are all welcome to this concert or any of the noon hour shows.  Admission to noon shows and final student concert is free.  Rehearsals on Saturday will run from 9:30-11 and then we will be heading over to the hospital grounds for our final performance.  We will need help transporting students between the Music School and Delta Hospital, so if you can help us drive on that day please let us know.

Please note that there is an evening concert on July 9

The Len Aruliah Quartet will be performing at All Saints Anglican Church in Ladner (just a few meters away from the Music School) at 7:30pm.   Students receive free admission to this event and are expected to attend this concert if possible as part of the learning process. The evening concert is an important and required part of the program for workshop participants. We could use some help promoting this concert.  Tell your friends!

If you have received scholarship funding to attend the camp you will be notified before the start of the workshop.  You will be asked to write a letter thanking our various sponsors.  We will provide the mailing address and other information for this letter.

Publicity photos

We’ll be taking photographs of workshop activities throughout the week.  The photos help us promote the workshop in coming years and help us get funding from sponsors and government organizations.  If you do not want pictures of yourself or your child used in this way, please let us know.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

We look forward to working with all of you!

Best regards,
Jared Burrows and Stephen Robb
Directors, Delta Jazz Workshop

Due to increased enrollment we are [...]]]> Registration for our 2010 workshop is almost full. If you are thinking of registering, please do so before June 29th, as space is now quite limited and registration will be closing.  For those students who have inquired but have not yet registered, you must register ASAP to hold your spot.

Due to increased enrollment we are pleased to announce that Len Aruliah and Stan Taylor will once again be on as full time faculty for the week

Tuesday June 15th at 7:30 pm – Ladner Community Centre.

Admission by Donation.  All proceeds will go towards scholarships for the 2010 South Delta Jazz Workshop.