Amplifying Youth Voices
Since the inception of the Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival, supporting young musicians and artists has always been a top priority. We've continually evolved and expanded our dedication to youth engagement and involvement, championing youth voices by providing unique opportunities to hone their musical talents and careers and offering ways they can meaningfully contribute to their broader communities.
"One of the Festival's core values is diversity," says the Festival's Artistic Director, Dave Quinn. "We want to continue encouraging participation from a wide range of young artists, community builders and visionaries."
We're thrilled to be expanding our youth initiatives for the 2025 Fort Langley Jazz and Arts Festival! Check them out below.
The Rising Star Jazz Musician Award will welcome applications from across BC
Since 2019, the Rising Star Jazz Awards have celebrated talented young musicians who demonstrate outstanding performance skills, study jazz at the secondary or post-secondary level, and aspire to build a professional career in jazz. The awards foster their growth by offering a chance for a paid performance at the Festival and a $1,000 scholarship!
"I'm so grateful to be chosen as the recipient of the Rising Star Award," said one of our 2023 winners, Ethan Lawrence. "It means a lot to have the opportunity to share my music alongside this line-up of great musicians and mentors who I have so much respect for. The festival has been incredibly significant in inspiring my love for this music, and I look forward to being a part of that."
"As a festival that features music from local, regional and national artists, it makes sense to expand the awards to welcome applications from across BC”, says Dave. “There are many great music programs at secondary schools and universities with deserving young artists across the province and we want to give them an opportunity to apply for the award."
The Rising Star Jazz Award winners will again take the stage this year, but new for 2025, they’ll play at our dedicated Youth Stage, generously sponsored by the Tony Quo Vadis Foundation!
The application deadline is March 31, 2025. Learn more here.
The Youth Concert Series Showcase will be integrated into the Festival
The Youth Concert Series Showcase will make another appearance after a very successful debut last year, with an exciting program expansion into the Festival itself and a total of ten performances instead of eight!
The youth concert series will start two weeks before the festival on Sunday, July 12 and 19, between 1 - 4pm at the Fort Langley Heritage CNR Station. You can take in two live youth performances each day for free, peruse local art exhibits, and take a tour of the historic CNR train station!
When it comes to the actual Festival (Saturday, July 26 and Sunday, July 27), check out our Youth Stage at the CNR train station during the main festival for a continuation of the series and youth performances!
A big thank you to the Tony Quo Vadis Foundation and the Langley Heritage Society for making the Youth Concert Series Showcase possible!
The application deadline is March 31, 2025.
Learn more and apply here
We are increasing student work opportunities
The dedicated work of our summer students has been integral to the Festival's success, and we're thrilled to be bringing back our summer student positions, pending approval of the Canada Summer Jobs grant program. These include Special Events Coordinator, Operations Coordinator, Administrative Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator!
We were so impressed with the energy and contributions of last year's summer students that we have expanded this year’s roster to include an additional position, Administrative Coordinator (pending approval of the Canada Summer Jobs grant program).
Applications for summer student positions close March 31, 2025.
More information here.
Launching our new Youth Advisory Committee
The enthusiastic summer students mentioned above were the inspiration behind the creation of the inaugural Youth Advisory Committee (YAC)!
“Our dream team of summer students confirmed the importance of having young people as ambassadors—those who are out there playing, engaging, and truly part of the scene,” says Dave. “They bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas about the Festival, and we’re eager to hear what they have in mind!”
The YAC will play a key role in shaping youth-focused festival programming and activities, ensuring the Festival remains relevant and appealing to younger audiences. In addition, committee members will gain valuable leadership, teamwork, communication, and event planning skills.
The committee will consist of up to five secondary school music students and five post-secondary music students from diverse musical backgrounds. Members will participate in meetings, discussions, and festival-related activities and be encouraged to share Festival information within their schools and networks.
“Young people help us to evolve and ensure we are reflecting the needs of the next generation,” says Dave. “Our 2025 initiatives speak to building an even more inclusive, engaged and forward-thinking festival experience by amplifying youth voices.”
For more information and to apply visit here.