Jazz Sudbury is looking for Canada’s next jazz star

 7/22/2010
 Is Canada’s next jazz star here in Northern Ontario, waiting to be discovered? Organizers of the second annual Jazz Sudbury Festival want to find out.

The Jazz Sudbury Talent Search is underway, with the finalists earning a spot on the MTI Main Stage during the Jazz Sudbury Festival, the September 10th weekend on the grounds of Science North in Sudbury.

“We think there is a huge pool of untapped jazz talent in Northern Ontario, and we want to give some of those voices a chance to shine,” says Chris Kivinen-Newman, the artistic director for Jazz Sudbury. “We had lots of success with our talent search last year, and wouldn’t it be great if one of our finalists went on to a career in the jazz industry, with that first big break happening at our festival.”

Musicians are being asked to submit a 2-5 minute video at the Jazz Sudbury website (www.jazzsudbury.ca). All entries will be submitted to a panel of judges, which will select four finalists. All visitors to the website can then vote for their favourite. All four finalists will perform on the MTI Main Stage, at the Jazz Sudbury Festival, Friday September 10th . The winner will be announced that night.

The judges for the festival include some of the biggest names in Canadian jazz, including the legendary Oliver Jones, Juno Award winner Brandi Disterheft, Canadian Independant Music Award winner Elizabeth Shepherd, Northern Ontario Music Award nominee Stéphane Paquette, and Hilary Welch, all of whom are performing at this year’s festival.

The deadline for entries is July 31st.

The end of the month is also the deadline to purchase a full weekend pass for the Jazz Sudbury festival at the reduced price of sixty dollars ($60). That full pass grants you access to all Jazz Sudbury concerts and special events. After July 31st, the price of a weekend pass will be seventy-five dollars ($75).

‘Tickets for the festival can be purchased on-line at www.jazzsudbury.ca, and beginning next week, will be available at all Sudbury branches of RBC Royal Bank.

For more information about Jazz Sudbury, visit the website or call 705-673-7770.