The Cape Town International Jazz Festival is a proudly South African event produced by espAfrika. The festival will take place on the 27th of March and on the 28th of March at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) featuring international and local artists performing both jazz and popular music genres.
The Cape Town International Jazz Festival is about much more than just blue notes. The festival also aims to educate and upskill the youth through its training and development programme which taps into the knowledge of the world’s premier musicians and fosters the next generation of jazz talent.
This year more than 50 pupils from five Western Cape schools were given a platform to explore future careers in the music industry. Grade 10-12 pupils from Bergvliet High School, Belhar High School, Hawston Catapult Foundation Music School, Pneumatix Performing Arts Academy and Worcester Senior Secondary School attended four weekend Music and Career workshops.
The facilitators presented on a range of career options including performing, sound engineering, lighting and festival management. Each school was provided with a mentor for the pupils. The established artists attended the youngsters’ band rehearsals outside of the workshops.
At the end of the four-week programme, the learners took part in a live performance and were chosen to join the Cape Town International Jazz Festival All-Star band, which will perform at the festival’s Free Community Concert on March 25. Wynberg High School situated in Cape town will be performing at this year’s concert.