All That Jazz – And More

All That Jazz – And More

The Montana Christchurch International Jazz Festival goes Annual with a new Trust Board.

The Montana Christchurch International Jazz Festival is to become an annual event as from next year organisers announced today.

“The Festival has grown from strength to strength and it is rewarding to respond to the community’s demand with an annual event”, says Festival Director, Jodi Wright.

The new annual programme will be held during the week following Easter each year, with dates already set for next year – Friday 1 to Sunday 10 April, 2005. It is anticipated the new calendar for the event will enable the Festival to attract otherwise unattainable international artists to Christchurch during the Northern Hemisphere’s “off-peak” season. A special concert featuring the international Jazz sensation Mary Coughlan on Friday, 19 March, 2004 in the James Hay Theatre in Christchurch will formally launch the first event of the new Christchurch International Jazz Festival Trust.

New Festival Trust A new charitable trust has been established to provide more hands-on governance. The Christchurch Jazz Festival Trustees are: Austin Forbes QC (Chair); Tony Paine (Director, Arts Centre of Christchurch); Michael Kelly (CEO, NCC NZ Ltd.); Neil Pickard (CPIT Jazz School) and Paddy Austin (Company Director).

“Christchurch has some outstanding jazz musicians and we’re very excited to continue promoting jazz and jazz education in Christchurch with the annual festival as well as additional concerts or workshops produced outside of festival dates,” says Christchurch Jazz Festival Trust Chair, Austin Forbes.

About the Festival The Montana Christchurch International Jazz Festival has been running since 1998. The next Festival will run from April 1-10, 2005.

The largest jazz festival in the South Island, the event attracts nearly 50,000 people and comprises more than 200 local and international jazz artists. Previous Festival headliners have included Grammy award-winning jazz sensation Diana Krall and double Grammy award-winning composer, arranger and jazz pianist Alan Broadbent.

The Festival is core funded by the Christchurch City Council.

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