Call for support for international jazz day
Funding hole for this year’s event prompts plea
Whanganui Jazz for Unesco has been promoting the IJD kaupapa since 2018. Their annual event Whanganui Celebrates International Jazz Day has the support of the Whanganui District Council.
The event’s musical director every year since the first one is the legendary Dr Rodger Fox of the New Zealand School of Music and the Rodger Fox Big Band. The organiser of the initiative is Ken Chernoff, president of the Whanganui Jazz Club.
“We focus on highlighting jazz music’s contribution to education, as well as the need for intercultural dialogue and international cooperation,” Chernoff said.
“We have a proven track record of success, and we plan to further elaborate our vision. To accomplish our great ambitions, we ask for your help.
“Through the years, financial support has come from both the local Creative Communities Scheme and the New Zealand National Commission for Unesco. This year, the commission is unable to offer funding, and we have a hole in the budget.
“This is an appeal to the Whanganui community to step up
and support this noble cause that has already put our town in the national and international spotlight. We are looking for corporate sponsorship and individual patronage. Anyone interested in helping in any way is asked to contact me on 022 431 5434.”
Jazz music is not only an entertainment and an art form, it is also a force for change that works within the framework of improvisation and collaboration. International Jazz Day is a movement within jazz that is dedicated to connecting communities around the world.
Founded in 2011 by Herbie Hancock and his Institute of Jazz on the one hand, and by Unesco on the other, this project answers the question of how jazz music can contribute to the conversation about bringing peace and justice to the world.