Coastal Jazz supports and celebrates the many aspiring young jazz musicians in top music education programs offered at our local schools. For decades, the Vancouver International Jazz Festival has provided opportunities for high school student musicians through the Anthem Sounds of Youth stage at the Free Downtown Jazz event on the opening weekend. This initiative showcases some of the best high school bands from the Lower Mainland.
This year the stage will host student performances between 1:30 – 6:30 on June 21 and June 22. A final schedule will be available on our website soon.
Participating ensembles are invited to play through a curated selection process by a small jury made up of music educators, in cooperation with the Coastal Jazz Programming department. Thank you to Bob Rebagliati, Anthem Properties and Tom Lee Music in cooperation with the Vancouver School Board, Vancouver Kiwanis Music Festivals and Surrey Schools.