About Us
The Festival has earned critical international acclaim for presenting innovative jazz and creative improvised music in a community setting.
It features a main stage program showcasing Canadian and international artists, a free downtown jazz tent on the Saturday of the Festival weekend, and numerous other concerts at a variety of community venues, including churches, an art gallery and the youth music centre.
Opening the Festival is a jazz colloquium that looks at the music's influence on society and culture. Another educational component is the mainly off-season Jazz in the Schools program, which exposes elementary, high school, and university students to teaching from highly improvisational jazz artists.
Finally, the Festival has commissioned three original works, including the jazz opera Québécité. This year (our 17th) we will mount Guelph's first Nuit Blanche, an all night event that will take place on the Saturday night of the festival. It will showcase art and performances throughout Guelph, transforming obscure spaces into places of public spectacle.
The Jazz Festival has grown from a small enterprise with audiences in the hundreds into a large event that draws upwards of 11,000 listeners annually. It occurs every year on the weekend following Labour Day in downtown Guelph, Ontario. This year's dates are Sept. 8-12, 2010.
Guelph Jazz Festival wins major arts award
The Guelph Jazz Festival recently won the Ontario Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts, beating out five other finalists in the Arts Organization category. It was the third year in a row that the festival has been nominated for the award. It carries a cash award and strong provincial recognition for the 17-year-old jazz festival. View our nomination video profile by clicking below.
