Close to 1,300 student-musicians will return to Bell Performing Arts Centre for Surrey Schools International Jazz Festival this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 25-26).
The 40th-annual festival will be livestreamed on surreyschoolsone.ca/jazzfestival, because no audience members will be allowed in the theatre, library or gym at Sullivan Heights Secondary, due to pandemic concerns.
“We have planned from the get-go that there will be no audience – it breaks my heart, but we didn’t want to risk the event not happening at all,” said Tricia Liversidge, arts education helping teacher. “We’re a step closer to what we know as festivals, but not quite there yet.”
This year’s festival will feature 30 big bands and 14 combos, some from the 12 Surrey secondary schools involved.
Last year’s event did not have a live-performance element, just video submissions.
Students will return to play at the Bell this year, but without audiences.
“It isn’t going to look like it has in the past, it’s scaled down definitely, but it’s happening in a way that we feel confident is as safe as we can possibly make it,” Liversidge said in a news release posted to surreyschools.ca.
The 2022 festival will not include vocal jazz, evening performances, masterclasses or noon-hour jams, due to health and safety measures.
Visit the festival website for performance schedules and other details.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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