Vancouver International Jazz Festival at Western Front

Western Front is pleased to partner with the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, presented by Coastal Jazz.

We’re kicking off opening night on Friday, June 20, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. with a special concert featuring acclaimed American saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins and Poland’s contemporary classical ensemble, the Lutosławski Quartet. The evening will include the Canadian premiere of a new piece composed by Wilkins for the quartet—commissioned by Jazztopad Festival and the National Forum of Music in Wrocław, Poland.

Join us again on Wednesday, June 25, and Thursday, June 26, at 3:30 p.m. for two free public talks that combine live musical improvisation with conversation. These events feature two of the festival’s artists-in-residence—Susie Ibarra, a Filipinx-American composer, percussionist, and sound artist, and Eve Risser, a French musician, composer, and improviser. The talks will be moderated by Vancouver-based musicians Dylan van der Schyff and François Houle.

Throughout the week, we’re also hosting The New Improvisers Studio, a mentorship program for ten emerging musicians aged 17 to 24. Led by Susie Ibarra, the program explores listening, field recording, spatial mapping, musical notation, and improvisation inspired by the rhythms of the natural world. It concludes with a public performance on Saturday, June 28 at 1:00 p.m.

To see our full lineup of events, visit the Current Events section on our website.

For more information on the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, visit coastaljazz.ca

Acknowledgements

Presented in partnership with Coastal Jazz with support from the Polish Cultural Institute New York, United States; National Forum of Music, Wrocław, Poland; Institut Français du Canada, Canada Council for the Arts; the Government of Canada, and SOCAN Foundation.