Education highlights from the Europe Jazz Conference 2024
Elis Floreen, a rising musical artist and songwriter from Limburg, Belgium who was one of 25 artists who performed showcases at #EJCGhent24 photo © Björn Comhaire
Last week, alongside 427 participants from 39 countries, Helena Summerfield, Jazz North’s Learning & Participation manager attended the Europe Jazz Conference in Ghent, Belgium. Here she shares her impressions of the event.
“Attending the European Jazz Conference in Ghent gave me the opportunity to connect with jazz educators from Europe and beyond. I was excited to be able to share news about Jazz North’s L&P offer with Orphy Robinson, the award winning musician and educator and Vice chair of the Jazz Promotion Network and Judith Humenick, the Executive Producer/Director of JazzWorks - a Canadian not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the development of jazz musicianship in players of all ages.
The scheduled networking breaks during the conference allowed me to introduce myself to Janine Irons OBE, FRSA - Co-Founder, Managing Director/CEO and Patricia Pascal - Producer & Emerging Artists Programme Lead from Tomorrow’s Warriors. I was able to express my admiration for the work of Tomorrow’s Warriors and their contribution to the UK jazz scene.
It was valuable to have time to catch up in person with some of my ‘Jazz Camp for Girls’ European counterparts having last seen them in 2022 at the 'Jazz Camp for Girls takes the North: EJN gender working group’ in Copenhagen. I spoke to Loredana Franza about developments at Semente Cultural Productions in Sweden and Maria Silvennoinen about growing the project at Jazz Finland. As a result of these conversations I am now exploring the possibility of connecting tutors from our Northern camps with tutors in Finland to share their experiences of working on the camps and celebrate best practice.
I particularly enjoyed attending a discussion group entitled ‘Curating for all’ chaired by Regina Fisch the founder and director of DE/SEMBLE (a festival for jazz and adventurous music in Vienna). The session explored programming with an intergenerational approach to ensure that future jazz audiences include both younger and older generations. I also found the panel debate Tomorrow comes Today most thought provoking. This was moderated by the writer and broadcaster Anna Umbima and gave 3 young musician activists the opportunity to speak of their concerns on the future of our planet and music ecosystem.
I left the conference feeling inspired by the speeches, the music showcased during the event and the beautiful city of Ghent. It certainly feels as though the European jazz community is committed to making a more just, inclusive and balanced music industry and one that I am proud to be a part of. “
Helena Summerfield
#EJCGhent24
#europejazz24