Jazz Intensive

Come participate in a creative and celebratory jazz education experience like no other! The University of Saskatchewan Jazz Intensive at the 2025 SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival is a unique and innovative 7-day jazz educational opportunity open to all high school and undergraduate university aged students (up to age 21).

Under the guidance of highly skilled professional jazz educators/performers, The University of Saskatchewan Jazz Intensive music education jazz camp will explore jazz music in an engaging hands-on way. 

The University of Saskatchewan Jazz Intensive dates are July 5-11, 2025 (inclusive). This camp runs daily from 10 AM-4:00 PM. There are no jazz camp scheduled activities in the evenings.

The University of Saskatchewan Jazz Intensive once again will offer an extensive and broad range of valued musical experiences and opportunities that includes:

• Instruction in jazz history, jazz theory, jazz improvisation, jazz ensemble, jazz composition and arranging
• Artist career development
• Meeting like-minded peers from across Western Canada eager to develop their own jazz-specific music skill sets and peer networks
• Challenging opportunities for students of all music ability levels
• Significant one on one instruction by our all Canadian faculty
• Participants will receive a full Festival Pass. University of Saskatchewan Jazz Intensive pass holders will be entitled to attend all 2025 SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival events. Passes must be presented in person with ID for admission to events. 19+ events also require photo ID for proof of age.

What makes this experience particularly exciting and unique is the opportunity for students to interact with touring musicians performing at the festival. In addition to our wonderful University of Saskatchewan Jazz Intensive faculty there may be opportunities for selected touring musicians to drop by to meet the participants and to hold a workshop for these students. For example, a few years ago jazz/commercial drummer Steve Smith dropped by the University of Saskatchewan Jazz Intensive to share some of his vast musical and professional insights with program participants!

A final public performance for the 2025 University of Saskatchewan Jazz Intensive participants is scheduled for July 11 at 2 PM in Quance Theatre (located in the Education Building at the University of Saskatchewan). Admission is free but donations are gratefully accepted.

A Message from The University of Saskatchewan Jazz Intensive Program Coordinator:

“It is a pleasure to be again involved in the Jazz Intensive music education project hosting this project within the University of Saskatchewan Department of Music. We have once again assembled an impressive list of all Canadian jazz educators/teachers who are at a variety of stages in their own career development. This faculty will again be working in close quarters with some of Western Canada’s most promising up-and-coming jazz talent through this jazz camp. The University of Saskatchewan’s Jazz Intensive facilitates a special kind of experiential-based learning! A special thank you to the jazz festival and its partners, the UofS and the Saskatchewan Band Association, for their enthusiastic support of this important educational initiative!” — Dean McNeill, Program Coordinator and Head of the Department of Music at the University of Saskatchewan

Important information

Registrants: Please note that applications will be processed in the order in which they are received. As such, we highly encourage you to consider applying sooner than later.

Every effort will be made to match student age and ability level to similar students to maximize learning and enjoyment for all participants.

All Instrumentalists (all instrument types) and all vocalists are welcome to apply!

All applicants to the program must submit an application. A participation fee of $175 applies for each musician accepted into the program. Students from outside Saskatoon are welcome to participate however all are responsible for their own transportation, accommodations and meals to/from the UofS campus which is where all University of Saskatchewan Jazz Intensive activities are to take place. 

Payment methods for registration: Cash, debit, Visa, MasterCard or cheque (payable to Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, Inc.). Note: Cheques will not be cashed until after the applicant has been informed they have been accepted.

Bursary Application

The SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival is proud to support students facing financial barriers to participating in the University of Saskatchewan Jazz Intensive program. Please complete the brief Bursary Application at the link below, and we will review your submission and contact you via email if approved. (Note: please complete the bursary application first, and wait for a response from the Festival prior to completing the Jazz Intensive registration form, otherwise the payment amount will not be adjusted).

IMPORTANT DATES

Applications open: March 14, 2025 (register below)

Application deadline:  June 27, 2025 

Contact

Questions regarding University of Saskatchewan Jazz Intensive educational content may be directed to Coordinator Dean McNeill at dean.mcneill@usask.ca. 

Questions about registration may be directed to Jazz Festival Executive Director Shannon Josdal at shannon@saskjazz.com.

2025 Faculty Bios

Originally hailing from Medicine Hat Alberta, Mo Lefever is a very active Edmonton-based professional guitarist and music educator. While firmly rooted in her high school jazz mixtapes, she has lead many of her own music projects and has been a band member in among other ensembles, Brett Miles’ Magilla Funk Conduit and GODIVA. Mo has been a sessional guitar instructor at MacEwan University since 2008.

Audrey Ochoa is one of Edmonton’s most prolific trombone players, playing Jazz, Rock, Pop, Latin, Punk, Ska and whatever other genre will have her.

Audrey released her debut album in 2014, “Trombone and Other Delights” which spent several consecutive months on the !Earshot! Jazz Charts, eventually earning the #5 spot on the annual top 10 for 2014. She released her second album”Afterthought” with her trio in 2017. The new album features her own compositions performed by herself and two of Edmonton’s finest, Mike Lent and Sandro Dominelli. Lending his mixing talents to the trio will Battery Poacher (Dallas Budd), who will be adding the sounds of psychadelia, hip hop and house to this otherwise bare bones trio of Bass, Drums and Trombone.

With significant education, performances and momentum amassed, Ochoa’s next recorded efforts “Frankenhorn” were originally intended to feature duets with pianist Chris Andrew – which would be remixed by electronica DJ, Battery Poacher. As pre-production progressed, she found herself utilizing skills from other projects and arranging strings with horns and a rhythm section. The result is an ambitious project that introduces strings into her previous configuration of trombone, piano, bass and drums, a mix of chamber music with contemporary and Latin jazz. Focused on unique arrangements and undisputed inspirations, the album features electronic remixes alongside this harmonious combination of genres and ideals.​

Acclaimed in the Canadian Press as “one of Canada’s true Renaissance men,” David Braid is a distinguished composer, improviser, and pianist. He is a ten-time nominee and four-time recipient of Canada’s highest music honour, the Juno Award.

A Steinway Artist, Braid serves as Composer-in-Residence for the Sinfonia UK Collective. He is also a Guest Artist at the Danish National Music Conservatory and an Affiliate Artist at the University of Liverpool’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Composition and Technology.

Braid first emerged as an “Ace Jazz Pianist,” according to The New York Observer, before transitioning into composing chamber music. His work is characterized by its narrative quality, vibrant colours, rhythmic complexity, spontaneity, and the integration of diverse musical languages, a result of over twenty years of international cross-cultural collaboration.

He has performed extensively across the UK, Scandinavia, Europe, Russia, Central Asia, the Far East, Australia, Brazil, and Canada. His original music has been described as “brilliant” by the Montreal Gazette, “full of substance” by Pizzicato Magazine, “enchanting” by The Age in Australia, and “hauntingly beautiful” by The Globe & Mail.

Braid’s first instrumental chamber music album, FLOW, released under the Steinway & Sons label in collaboration with the Epoque Quartet (Prague), was praised by the Los Angeles Examiner as “an exceptional work… created with patience, love, and an understanding of the human condition, form, and structure.” His first choral composition, “Corona Divinae Misericordiae,” was nominated for Classical Album of the Year in Canada. Additionally, his first film score won two Canadian Screen Awards for “Best Original Score” and “Best Original Song.”

Braid’s brief foray into dramatic music includes arrangements and compositions for the Chet Baker-inspired biopic, Born to Be Blue, starring Ethan Hawke, which The Telegraph (UK) places as one of the top jazz films of all time. His jazz score received acclaim for its “contemporary patina without sacrificing period authenticity,” as noted by The Times (UK). He also received a Screen Award nomination for his orchestral score for the 2022 film Delia’s Gone, featuring Stephan James and Marisa Tomei.

In recognition of his exceptional contributions to music, David Braid received the prestigious Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award for Keyboard Artistry from the Ontario Foundation for the Arts. Throughout his career, he has distinguished himself as one of a few creative artists capable of engaging audiences in both classical and jazz communities. His chamber music compositions for notable ensembles resonate with diverse audiences, transcending traditional genre boundaries without compromising the integrity of classical music.

Beyond his performances, Braid supports emerging musicians by leading innovative workshops and masterclasses designed to empower students, reinforce their musical fundamentals, and encourage authentic innovation over superficial creativity.

Having retired after 31 years of teaching elementary and secondary band in Saskatoon, Nick Fanner continues to be very active in music education, directing the Saskatoon Youth Jazz Orchestra (formed in 2017), as well as the Saskatoon Community Bands beginner jazz band and intermediate concert band. Mr. Fanner has directed a number of Junior & Intermediate Honour Bands in Saskatchewan. He continues to be a member of the staff at the Prairielands Jazz Camp in Regina, having done so since 2002.  In addition to teaching Jazz Pedagogy and Jazz History as a sessional lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan, Mr. Fanner has team taught courses in Instrumental Music Teaching in Secondary School and Brass Techniques (Trumpet).  He has also served many times as an instructor at the annual U of S High School Select Jazz program. Nick has adjudicated in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and (this spring) Manitoba.  He continues to be a member of the trumpet section of the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra for many of each season’s performances. Mr. Fanner is honoured to be the recipient of the 2022 SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival Special Recognition Award and the 2019 Saskatchewan Band Association’s Distinguished Band Director Award.

Eric Platz is a drummer whose creative work intersects with Jazz, Americana, North African, and Contemporary Improvised music. As a member of singer Carrie Rodriguez’s band, Eric toured extensively throughout North America, appeared on “Austin City Limits”, performed with Bill Frisell and Lucinda Williams, and collaborated with producer Lee Townsend on the recording Love and Circumstance. Life After Life, a recording featuring Eric’s compositions for clarinet, cello, bass, and percussion, was called “an extraordinary debut” by DOWN BEAT Magazine. Eric is an Associate Professor of Music at Brandon University where he teaches drumset, Jazz and Contemporary Popular Music, and non-Western music traditions.

Emmett Fortosky is a professional bassist and educator based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Emmett has received a Bachelor of Music (Mus. Ed) Honours, Bachelor of Education and a Jazz Certificate from the University of Saskatchewan. In addition, he spent time studying at Humber College in Toronto where he learned from prominent Canadian bassists Neil Swainson and Mike Downes. Priding himself on playing a variety of types of music, Emmett has performed with a selection of musicians from across many genres. Notably, he has performed in The Eagles Orchestra, Caity Gyorgy, Larnell Lewis (with the SJO), The Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (sharing the stage with Tanya Tagaq) and has opened for Boney M. with Ellen Froese. Ongoing projects include groups such as Sons of Django, which is set to release its debut album in 2026. His passion for music is maintained both on and off the stage as he is also heavily involved in instructing music. In his role as a music educator, Emmett teaches elementary school Band, was the host of the Bassment Jazz Jam Series (2022-2024), and gives private lessons and clinics. Emmett also created an educational initiative called, “Jazz in the Schools Saskatchewan (JISSK)” to continue building the jazz scene in his home province.

Mark DeJong is a saxophonist, composer, and bandleader and currently teaches at the Mount Royal University Conservatory. He holds degrees in saxophone performance from the University of Calgary, (BMus) and jazz performance from Rutgers University (MMus)

Active as a performer and clinician throughout North America, Mark has numerous recording credits and appearances at festivals across the country. He is the founder of MusicConnect, which recently featured multiple Grammy award-winning composer/pianist Gil Goldstein. He is the co-leader of Calgary’s Redline Trio, and was recently featured as a soloist with Sarah Slean, together with the Vancouver Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic and the Saskatoon Symphony. He has also been featured as a soloist with Laila Biali, the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra, the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, and Canada’s iconic Shuffle Demons, on their tour of Panama and Cuba. He appeared as a feature artist at the World Expo in Shanghai, China, as well as the Blue Note, New York. Over the course of his career he has shared the stage with Ray Charles, Gil Goldstein, Lenny Pickett, Wayne Bergeron, Laila Biali, Dee Daniels, David Braid, Kenny Wheeler, Brad Turner, Dean McNeil, Caity Gyorgy, Campbell Ryga, Ian Tyson, Wayne Newton, Rob McConnell, Moe Koffman, Ralph Bowen, Sean Jones, Hugh Fraser, Tommy Banks, PJ Perry and many others.

An award-winning jazz musician, composer, educator, and arts administrator, Dean McNeill has been contributing to the arts scene provincially and nationally for decades. Dean has been a Professor at the University of Saskatchewan for over 25 years and he holds a Music Diploma from MacEwan University, an undergraduate music degree from McGill University, and a Master’s degree in music from the University of North Texas. Dean been the recipient of the UofS’s Dwaine Nelson Teaching Award, University of Saskatchewan Student’s Union Teaching Excellence Award, Saskatchewan Jazz Festival’s Special Recognition Award, Saskatchewan Choral Federation’s Outstanding Administrator’s Award, and in 2023, Dean was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II  Platinum Jubilee Medal (Saskatchewan).

A few years ago Dean performed as soloist Kalla composed by Dr. Allan Gilliland with the New Edmonton Wind Symphonia. Kalla won a Western Canadian Music Award and since then several other musical projects involving Dean have been nominated for Western Canadian Music Awards in their own right including Jeff Presslaff’s The Complete Rebirth Of The Cool and the Regina Jazz Society’s The Saskatchewan Suite: The Story of Us.

Dean has composed and arranged music for symphony orchestra, wind ensemble, large and small brass ensembles, jazz combo, and large jazz ensemble and his arrangements of the jazz standard All of You won an award from Downbeat Magazine for University Student Arrangement of the Year. Crediting much of his success to diligence, strong musical role models, Dean is honored to have shared the professional concert stage with the likes of Jon Ballantyne, Tommy Banks, David Braid, Phil Dwyer, Hugh Fraser, Mark Fewer, Guy Few, Wycliffe Gordon, Kelly Jefferson, Ingrid Jensen, Michael Kaeshammer, Alastair Kay, Bob Mintzer, PJ Perry, Maria Schneider, Denzal Sinclaire, and Brad Turner among others. Dean is currently serving as Artistic Director of the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra

Alexis Normand’s jazz-folk music in French has been recognized across Canada to critical acclaim. Named Francophone Artist of the Year by the Western Canadian Music Awards in 2018, her list of nominations also includes the Canadian Folk Music Awards and the Lieutenant Governor’s Arts Award in her home province of Saskatchewan.

In 2016, she put her solo career on hold to make her side project with Rosie & the Riveters a full-time endeavor. They toured internationally and recorded 3 albums. Their 2018 album, Ms. Behave, peaked at #3 on Canada’s CBC Radio 2 Top 20 and was featured in publications such as Billboard Magazine and Rolling Stone. Before the band dissolved in 2020, their music was used in television shows and commercials, most notably for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and CBC’s Workin’ Moms. After over a decade of working in the arts as a songwriter, Alexis recently shifted her practice to include documentary filmmaking – a medium that fosters more authenticity and vulnerability in her practice. In addition to preparing a new solo record, she recently released French Enough – her first short film, written and directed for the National Film Board of Canada. This fall, Alexis will release a bilingual and deeply personal record that dives into her francophone experience living in a minority-language context. Produced by James Bunton (Donovan Woods, Caleigh Cardinal), the album marks her long-awaited return as a solo artist, one brimming with warmth and vulnerability. (www.alexisnormand.com).

Raised in North Battleford Saskatchewan, Canadian Composer, Performer, and Educator Paul Suchan graduated with a M.Mus in Composition (2012) from the Université de Montréal where he studied with composer Alan Belkin. He is currently based in Saskatoon with his wife Naomi, daughter Evelyn and son Isaac.  He has been a sessional lecturer in music composition at the University of Saskatchewan since 2017 and his body of work includes over 85 commissions that have been performed across Canada, the United States and Europe by leading university ensembles, symphony orchestras, community groups, choirs, small ensembles and others. He is frequently commissioned by groups across Canada of various sizes and abilities.