Thanks to a $500,000 commitment by TD Bank Group (TD), emerging jazz artists will continue to have access to training, mentorship, and performance experiences as part of the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music (Banff Jazz).
This ongoing investment in TD Music Fellowships in Jazz and TD Music Scholarships in Jazz builds on a 34-year legacy of support for The Banff Centre.
As lead supporters of Banff Jazz, TD’s investment will continue to provide critical financial support. This will include scholarships for Banff Jazz participants to allow them to develop their skills under the guidance of world-renowned faculty as well as research, conceive and produce new work.
“Music programs and talented performers like those involved in Banff Jazz all contribute to keeping our communities culturally vibrant,” said Brian Gervais, senior vice-president Prairie Region, TD Canada Trust. “We’re excited to continue working with Banff Jazz and we have seen firsthand how much music means to Canadians.”
Led by critically acclaimed musician Vijay Iyer, Banff Jazz is a three-week intensive program that brings participants from around the world together to take part in master classes, lectures, workshops, informal sessions and collaborative concerts under the mentorship of world-renowned faculty. The program has shaped the careers of internationally prestigious artists like Esperanza Spalding, winner of the Best New Artist award at the 53 annual Grammy Awards, and Kristin Fung, the only Canadian vocalist in the cast of Trillium J, a contemporary opera by composer Anthony Braxton.
40th annual Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival announce presenters
Climbers Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell will headline this year’s Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival. Both are known for their ascents of big walls, speed records and unflinching dedication to rock climbing.
This year’s festival showcases nine days (Oct. 31 – Nov. 8) of the best in mountain adventure films and books, including the world premiere of The Rockies Traverse, featuring paragliders Will Gadd and Gavin McClurg; the films Meru, A Line Across the Sky and Hadwin’s Judgement; in person appearances by Kit Deslauriers – the first person to ski the Seven Summits; alpinist writers Kelly Cordes and Simone Moro; and Lydia Bradey, the first woman to climb Mt. Everest without supplementary oxygen. Climber and filmmaker Cedar Wright will also make his debut as MC presenting the action-packed adrenaline show Radical Reels.
Festival highlights
Oct. 31 – Meru:
In the high-stakes game of big-wall climbing, the Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru in Northern India, has seen more failed attempts by elite climbing teams over the past 30 years than any other ascent in the Himalayas. In 2011, climbers Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk arrived in India to tackle Meru for a second time, under extraordinary circumstances.
Nov. 5 – Alex Honnold
In his revealing and nail-biting new memoir Alone on the Wall, Honnold teamed up with veteran climbing writer David Roberts to tell the stories behind his most mind-boggling climbs.
Nov. 6 – Tommy Caldwell, followed by A Line Across the Sky
It’s been a big year for American climber Tommy Caldwell. First, along with Alex Honnold, he picked up a prestigious Piolet d’Or for the first traverse of the Fitz Roy massif – a seven-summit climb stretching four miles across an iconic skyline in Patagonia, documented in A Line Across the Sky.
