
The Guelph Jazz Festival (GJF) was founded in 1994 by friends who sought to present creative improvised music in Guelph. Our many successes include: presenting hundreds of ticketed concerts of local, national and international artists; producing a free outdoor concert series in the downtown core recently expanded to Friday and Saturday of the Festival weekend; convening an educational colloquium in partnership with the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI) at the University of Guelph that examines improvisation within a cultural and social context and is free and open to the public; winning the Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts (2010) and being named as a finalist the previous two years; receiving the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for the Arts (1997, 2000, 2001) for continued growth and innovation; the GJF in the Schools and GJF in the Community programs, interactive workshop series lead by world-class musicians exposing students and adults to music making and improvisation; developing our GJF Around Town program that encourages local restaurants and bars to participate in the Festival by presenting jazz bands in their establishments...
