Generations in Jazz was back in full swing this year, with the big-top tent making its first return since 2019.
The major event kicked off on Friday and continued across the weekend, with 4500 aspiring musicians from across Australia vying for awards and scholarships.
The winners of Generations in Jazz and some of Australia’s finest young jazz musicians were discovered, with the vocal scholarship, sponsored by Benara Pastoral, awarded to Margot Inès Petrie and the James Morrison jazz scholarship, sponsored by Pilatus Australia, was awarded to Tenor Saxophonist Oscar Bruten.
Generations in Jazz music director Jordan Murray said this year’s young musicians were among the finest the event had seen across its 40-year history.
“The standard of musicianship this year was some of the best we have ever heard,” Mr Murray said.
“While the winners were undoubtedly deserving of the accolades and awards, the experience and learning opportunities enjoyed by all the students who participated are really the main focus for the festival.
“The younger students get to see potentially what they could be aiming for, so it really instils this great learning outcome for them to see the progression, which I think is really important.
“Primarily our focus is the student experience, so when they come here, from the beginner kids right through to the senior kids, they have that moment they have practiced and really worked hard for.
“It is the biggest big band event on the calendar, it has the highest calibre secondary school big bands in the country.”
Generations in Jazz chair Tony Wright said there was lots of excitement around the event returning to its big-top format and said the wet weather did not dampen the celebrations.
“I did not receive one negative comment from students or teachers or participants, but just a general sense of excitement of being part of it,” he said.
The feature concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings proved extremely popular with jazz lovers and local and interstate music lovers alike.
The headline concerts featured R&B Soul sensation Thndo, Adam Lopez, whose vocal talents have earned him Guinness World Record accolades, and Swedish jazz-pop supergroup Dirty Loops, who broke their European tour to play an exclusive Australian show in Mount Gambier.
“It was nice to see so many people enjoying a big weekend of music here in Mount Gambier,” Mr Wright said.
Dirty Loops did not disappoint, with people travelling from as far as Cairns to see the band live.
“The response to Dirty Loops from the students was hard to describe, it was so happy, excited and engaged, it was just really phenomenal,” Mr Wright said.
Mr Wright praised the students and music teachers for their participation along with the volunteers who helped make the event a resounding success.
“An event of this magnitude simply cannot happen without the help of our volunteers,” Mr Wright said.
“After the pandemic forced us to skip the event for a number of years, it was never guaranteed we’d be able to bring Generations in Jazz back to Mount Gambier.
“On behalf of the event board, I want to express our gratitude not only to the volunteers, but the people of Mount Gambier who embrace this event and the people who participate in it while they’re here.
“We have a massive contribution from our community to make this event work.
“Between cash contributions, in-kind contributions, and volunteers’ time, it is over $500,000 worth of community value that gets put into this event.
“Our volunteers were absolutely magnificent, we have around 150 volunteers who run this event and they all put in the hard yards.
“It’s a testament to our Limestone Coast hospitality that we’re able to host such a significant event here, and the rewards to our region go way beyond the economic benefits.
“A massive thank you for the community, thank you to the volunteers, thank you to my fellow directors and the board.
“Mostly, a huge thank you to the students and music directors who had faith that we could deliver an outstanding event and who attended Generations in Jazz again.”
