THE Generations in Jazz (GIJ) scholarship finalists for 2019 have been announced with six instrumentalists and six vocalists vying for the prestigious accolades.
Celebrating its 30th year, the scholarship awards a talented instrumentalist $10,000 – donated by Melbourne’s Andrea Evans and the late Ron Evans AM – to support their career development.
Contenders vying for The Border Watch Newspaper-sponsored GIJ Vocal Scholarship also have a chance to win $10,000
GIJ artistic director James Morrison said the annual scholarships were a highly anticipated feature of the festival program, attracting Australia’s most outstanding young jazz artists.
“The wonderful thing about Generations In Jazz is we often get to track the progress of wonderful young artists over a period of time,” he said.
“That is certainly the case in 2019, as we have a number of finalists returning from last year and it is fantastic to hear how far they have come in the last 12 months.
“Of course there is some new talent too and we cannot wait to hear them all at GIJ in just a few weeks.”
Scholarship winners will be announced on Sunday, May 5 where they will take centrestage during the finale concert from 11am.
Instrumental scholarship finalists
Sam Newman, 19, Perth: A talented drummer in his final year at the James Morrison Academy.
Lachlan Glover, 18, Perth: A trumpeter, also from the academy, who has been nominated as a finalist for the fifth consecutive year.
Patrick Lefevre, 19, Melbourne: Started playing the saxophone aged 10 and his passion for jazz was ignited when he attended the 2012 GIJ event.
Blakely McLean Davies, 19, Melbourne: Studies at the University of Melbourne. Started playing the double bass in 2012 and has never looked back.
Damon Poppleton, 16, Sydney: Switched to the saxophone at 10 and is now lead alto in the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts Jazz Orchestra and John Morrison’s AIM Studio Youth Orchestra.
Max Bruten, 18, Melbourne: A guitarist coming from Monash University who won a spot in the GIJ Super Band in 2016 and 2017.
Vocal scholarship finalists
Merinda Dias-Jayasinha, 21, Brisbane: A vocalist and composer cementing her place in Australia’s new generation of jazz musicians.
Ella Keysell, 21, Sydney: Grew up listening to soul music and began singing and playing guitar as a young child.
Chelsea McGuinness, 20, Adelaide: Studied with internationally acclaimed vocal experts throughout her training and in 2016 won GIJ’s, most promising jazz vocal soloist
award.
Adelina Martinez, 21, Brisbane: Prides herself on her versatility and relishes the challenge of jumping between genres.
Imogen Faith Laag, 20, Gold Coast: Raised in a musical family and is establishing herself as a proven performer lauded for her engaging, warm rich tone, excellent range and storytelling.
Caleb Fortuin, 20, Melbourne: A finalist who comes from a musical family.
