High School Honour Jazz Bands

About High School Honour Bands

Presented in collaboration with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra’s annual High School Honour Jazz Bands program provides students from across the province the opportunity to gather together for a shared experience of fast-paced musical challenge and growth in the context of a big band. Participants will work closely with Manitoba’s finest jazz educators and performers.

Formed in the early 1990s, one or more High School Honour Jazz Band has been performing at the Winnipeg International Jazz Festival for over 25 years. Beginning with one jazz band the program has grown to three ensembles: Junior, Intermediate or Senior. Students are selected on the strength of an audition, which includes improvisation and excerpts (and sight reading in live auditions).

Rehearsals take place over the course of three fast-paced and exciting days in preparation for the final concert as part of the 2026 TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival. This project is part of the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra’s commitment to outreach and the development of big band performance in the province of Manitoba.

About Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra (WJO) is Canada’s first community-based, non-profit professional jazz orchestra. its equal can be found in only a handful of North American cities. Dr. Richard Gillis and Sasha Boychouk founded the WJO in 1997, inspired by a vision of forming a professional big band with the best emerging and veteran musicians in Winnipeg.

Commissioning new works and connecting with and inspiring students and young musicians is an integral part of the WJO vision. Today, the orchestra roster boasts 16 to 25 Winnipeg-based musicians whose combined resumes touch every corner of performance jazz locally, nationally, and around the world. WJO's popularity has grown steadily over the course of the band’s history, from small, informal events at the West End Cultural Centre to a six-concert season and sold-out performances at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. 

About Jazz Winnipeg

Jazz Winnipeg is a charitable, non-profit organization promoting the art of jazz and creative music through concert presentations and community engagement. As producers of the annual TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival as well as concerts and workshops throughout the year, Jazz Winnipeg is a vibrant and essential organization dedicated to the enrichment of Winnipeg's cultural community.