Stingray Jazz Youth Summit | Ottawa Jazz Festival

^{The 2022 Jazz Youth Summit Participants from left to right: Mike Tremblay (Program Director); Matthew O’Halloran (piano), Mason Jeffrey-Off (bass); Duncan Hunter (trumpet); Spencer Chan (tenor Sax, flute); Mark Ositsashvili (trombone); Reef Downing (guitar); Laura Seaborn (voice); Justine Walker (drums); Leah Reavie (alto soprano sax); and Petr Cancura (Festival Programming Manager).}

9 students selected for a once in a lifetime musical journey…

Music students from high schools and universities across Ottawa are invited to apply and participate in The Stingray Jazz Youth Summit, an intensive program for young musicians that runs during the Ottawa Jazz Festival (June 23 – 30). Members are selected by an audition process (pre-recorded audition – see application form below). This program provides training, workshops by visiting international artists and performance opportunities at the Ottawa Jazz Festival for young hopeful Canadian jazz musicians.

They are given the chance to work on original material and attend masterclasses by acclaimed visiting international artists. Past clinicians have included Ethan Iverson, John Hollenbeck, Dave Douglas, Maria Schneider, Tim Berne & Aurora Nealand, Joel Frahm, John Hollenback, Michael Winograd to name a few. The program culminates with a main-stage performance opening for Herbie Hancock on June 30th.

Only nine students, ranging from age 16 – 23, are selected for this unique adventure. At the end of the journey, four out of the nine receive bursaries from Stingray Music in contribution to advance their education in music.

Deadline for applications is May 26th, 2023.

Application Form

Mike Tremblay, Program Director

With more than 30 years experience in the music industry, woodwind specialist Mike Tremblay is an associate performance faculty member at Carleton University. He teaches saxophone, ensembles, jazz improvising and has performed with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and many other ensembles.

Some of his performance credits include Natalie Cole, Alanis Morissette, Lou Rawls, Bernadette Peters, John Pizzarelli, Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin. Some of his theatre credits include The Book of Mormon (International tour) and Billy Elliott (International tour), to name a few.

Immersing budding young musicians into this intense program creates deep friendships that often lead to professional partnerships. Previous graduates of the program have gone on to their own critically acclaimed careers

Impact

Immersing budding young musicians into this intense program creates deep friendships that often leads to professional partnerships. Previous graduates of the program have gone on to their own critically acclaimed careers. it was very poignant and ‘surreal’ when Autobahn returned to perform at the Festival and conduct their own masterclass for the next generation.