“What is most important to us is to keep producing opportunities for artists to collaborate and perform and continue to present accessible music and concert experiences for our community.”
Above: Hand to Earth
Long considered a staple on our annual events calendar, the Vancouver International Jazz Festival draws artists from all corners of the globe, encompassing any manner of forms of the genre in the process. As executive director, Nina Horvath’s penchant for the arts fi gures prominently – and her passion was developed early. “My love of music started from childhood, as my dad and older sister played piano and I followed suit from a very young age,” she says. “Much of our family life is centered on music.” While her personal listening tastes and educational journey are rooted in classical music, those tastes began to broaden as she, “Took agency over the music I listened to and purchased.” “Now, I listen widely from classical to jazz to hip hop to anything that catches my attention,” says Horvath.
“The endless depth and diversity of music are among its greatest joys and I cherish discovering new and surprising sounds.” At the helm of the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society and overseeing the Vancouver International Jazz Festival since November, 2021, Horvath was excited at the prospect of working with an organization, “that cares so much for its community and presents accessible performances to thousands of people each year. What other organization do you know that offers so much world-class music for free?”
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The Vancouver International Jazz Festival has been an integral part of the local events calendar since 1985 and has garnered a reputation as being one of the most beloved and anticipated each year. Horvath notes, enlisting a roster of acts and corresponding venues can be a somewhat daunting task.
Horvath adds she deeply appreciates the way the organization has always supported local musicians. “How they treated them equitably to big-name stars, and how they gave them an equal platform to perform,” she adds.
“The future of the arts can sometimes feel bleak with constant strains on funding, but what doesn’t feel bleak is the depth of talent to celebrate.”
“The festival is generally planned in a one-year cycle with bookings for the following year starting in the fall when many of the jazz festivals across Canada gather to plan routing for artists,” she says.
“More signifi cant strategic pieces and dreaming can extend further into the future, up to fi ve years in advance.”
Above: Biboye Onanuga
Above: Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few
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Above: Aja Monet
While continually presenting a world class festival each year, the plans ramp up as a special milestone is on the horizon, but looks beyond that with great optimism for the future.
“2025 will be our 40th anniversary so we’ll be planning something special to celebrate such a milestone,” she says. “Looking further ahead, Coastal Jazz faces the same challenge many festivals across Canada face – how to fi nd a sustainable way to produce a festival in a post-pandemic world.”
Horvath notes, with rising costs and static funding from many government and corporate partners, the margins become slimmer and slimmer each year.“Resiliency, ingenuity, community partnerships, and developing relationships with local businesses will be keys to ensuring that success.”
Horvath adds, it’s a given that undertakings of this magnitude are ingrained in Vancouver’s cultural mosaic and the organization is looking forward to keeping these events alive.
“What is most important to us is to keep producing opportunities for artists to collaborate and perform and continue to present accessible music and concert experiences for our community,” says Horvath.
Above: Teresa Marie and the Three
Above: JP Carter
“Being able to attend a concert without fi nancial barriers provides us all with the opportunity to joyfully connect, something that the last few years have taught us is more important than ever.”
Horvath hopes Coastal Jazz will continue doing what it does for a long time – uplifting the voices of unique artists from Vancouver and across the globe and sharing those voices with the local public.
“It’s important to me that we continue to place our community at the forefront, work to support and develop local talent and bring in big-name stars, and celebrate the wild splendor of musical creativity from all over the world.”
Visit coastaljazz.ca for more information on the 2024 Vancouver International Jazz Festival and events schedule, to purchase tickets, or to donate to the Society to support future live events and programming.
Above: Killer Mike
Top: Lisa Cay Miller
