Students Celebrate International Jazz Day at Adelaide Festival Centre

South Australian secondary school students will unite today and join global celebrations for UNESCO's International Jazz Day with performance workshops led by local jazz creatives Jo Lawry, Will Vinson, Kyrie Anderson and Lazaro Numa at Adelaide Festival Centre.

About 100 students from Gawler and District College, Playford International College and Salisbury East High School have been invited to Adelaide Festival Centre participate in specially crafted workshops focusing on jazz performance as a conversation and process of music making.

The workshops will culminate in participants performing a jazz parade, using instruments and voice, around the Rotunda in Elder Park.

Jazz musicians - husband and wife duo, Jo Lawry and Will Vinson, will use vocals and saxophone to create today's jazz workshops. Jo has featured on Grammy-nominated jazz recordings and has become well-known beyond jazz circles for her work with Sting, with whom she toured with from 2009 to 2015.

Other mentors include global jazz talent Lazaro Numa, a Cuban-Australian trumpet player with a career spanning more than 15 years. He majored in trumpet (jazz, Latin, pop) at the Amadeo Roldan Conservatory of Music in Havana and has since performed in national orchestras and in Latin and jazz bands overseas. Lazaro will return to Her Majesty's Theatre stage in May for the Music @ The Maj concert series - Hear Now. Tickets available here.

Adelaide drummer, Kyrie Anderson, will join the line-up of professional jazz performers. One of Australia's most sought-after drummers, Kyrie completed a Jazz Performance degree at The University of Adelaide before honing her craft in Canada at the world-renowned Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. She has since been nominated for several South Australian Music Awards.

Jo Lawry: "Will and I are thrilled to be able to celebrate International Jazz Day here in Adelaide. It feels especially precious to be able to do so, given the fact so many of our fellow musicians around the world have not been able to play together in person for over a year now.

"We are particularly happy to have this event focus on community, participation and togetherness."

The annual International Jazz Day celebration, held globally on April 30, recognises the incredible artform of jazz and is an opportunity to celebrate Adelaide as a UNESCO City of Music.

Adelaide was designated as a UNESCO City of Music in 2015 and is the first and only Music City in Australia. The designation acknowledges the breadth, depth and vibrancy of the city's music culture, international reach, history, aspirations, and collaborations.

Today's event is facilitated by Adelaide Festival Centre's centrED program, which provides financial support, for equity schools so students can attend arts events.

Adelaide Festival Centre Philanthropy Manager Abbie Taylor: "We are thrilled to support International Jazz Day today. This event highlights the extraordinary power of music and how it can bring people together.

"Adelaide Festival Centre Foundation is proud to support centrED's learning program providing equitable access to quality arts learning experiences."

Adelaide Festival Centre CEO & Artistic Director Douglas Gautier AM: "Today's event reinforces Adelaide Festival Centre's philosophy of 'Arts for All' by providing experiences to students with some of the world's best jazz musicians.

"We thank everybody involved, especially Adelaide Festival Centre Foundation and look forward to continue supporting, connecting, and nurturing Adelaide's students through the arts."

This program is also supported by the South Australian Department for Education.

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