The Power of Improvisation

The Society was delighted to see the impact of the Jazz Juniors Programme delivered by Jazzlife Alliance and supported through a grant from the Society when the Secretary & CEO Duane Farrell visited a rehearsal in Belfast in November 2024. Jazz Juniors is Northern Ireland’s first dedicated jazz improvisation scheme for under 18s, open to all instrumentalists and singers. Speaking after visiting the rehearsal, Duane said “It was great to see the programme in practice and to listen to the young people as they performed. It was evident to me that the programmes focus on building the capacity of young people to improvise musically is a great confidence builder for the young people themselves. It also requires them to listen effectively and coordinate in order to perform. These are great skills for young people to develop and congratulations to David, Nigel and the trustees of Jazzlife Alliance for their work in bringing this programme to areas across Northern Ireland.