July 13- 18 2025 at the University of Regina (Riddell Centre)

Throughout the week, the participants get a chance to experience playing in a big band, small ensembles, Jazz theory, and private lessons!  The camp brings together some of the best jazz performers and educators in Canada to provide young musicians a week of intensive jazz training. 

REGISTER FOR 2025 PRAIRIELAND JAZZ CAMP HERE

• Improvisation and jazz theory
• Big band rehearsals and sectionals
• Combo experience for all participants
• Instrument master classes each morning
• 2 half-hour private lessons
• Guided listening sessions
• Student big band & combo concerts
• Staff big band & combo concerts

The Prairielands Jazz Camp offered a host of nationally-acclaimed clinicians this year.  Most of our clinicians - including our Jazz Camp Coordinators - are actually prior graduates of Prairielands Jazz Camp.  For 2024 we are pleased to have had the following fantastic clinicians:

Cheryl Ferguson

Cheryl Ferguson received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance (French horn) and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Mary (Bismarck, ND).  She has also done graduate work at Southern Oregon University, and has earned a Master in Curriculum Studies (Music Education) at Acadia University (Nova Scotia).

She is active as a clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor, including conducting many regional Honour Bands across the Prairies.  She has adjudicated at band and chamber music festivals across the Prairie Provinces and in North Dakota.  Cheryl has also conducted the Adult Advanced Band at International Music Camp for several years. 

Donny Kennedy

Donny Kennedy moved to Montreal, Quebec in 1995 to pursue a jazz performance degree at McGill University.  During his stay as an undergraduate student, he was the recipient of the David Holt award for academic standing in jazz. 

Donny teaches at McGill University, St. George’s School of Montreal, and has also recently begun teaching at Vanier College.  At McGill, he has taught Basic Jazz Arranging, Jazz Saxophone, Jazz Materials, Basic Materials of Jazz, Jazz Orchestra III, and Jazz Combo.  He is also the Jazz Combo Coordinator at McGill University.  Recently he was awarded the McGill University Schulich's Teaching Award for 2020-21.

Pat Collins

Originally from Qualicum Beach, B.C., bassist Pat Collins moved to Toronto in 1988 and has become one of the more active bassists on the Canadian Jazz Scene.  Pat has performed with such legendary musicians as Oscar Peterson, Joe Henderson, Dizzy Gillespie, Herb Ellis, Jimmy Cobb and Lee Konitz.  He has also performed with legendary Canadian musicians as Moe Koffman, Rob McConnell, Ed Bickert, Peter Appleyard and Don Thompson.

Pat is also an educator, and is on the full-time music faculty of Mohawk College, in Hamilton, Ontario.  Pat also taught for many years at Humber College in Toronto, as well as many summer music camps including the Interprovincial Music Camp, Kincardine Summer Music Festival and the National Music Camp. 

Jeff McLeod

Jeff McLeod is a Toronto-based jazz organist and pianist. He holds Doctorate and Masters degrees from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester NY where he studied with noted jazz pianists and educators Harold Danko and Bill Dobbins and worked as a course instructor for four years. He is an active live and studio performer on the Canadian music scene and has released two albums under his own name. His first release, Double Entendre, is a double CD set with one of the discs devoted entirely to the Hammond organ. It was nominated for Jazz Album of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards.

Dave Laing

Dave Laing was born in Kitchener Ontario and grew up in a musical family. He began his formal music studies at McGill Univeristy in 1985 and became a faculty member at McGill in 1990. In his 30+ years as a professional musician and educator based in Montreal, he has appeared on over 80 recordings and performed hundreds of concerts worldwide. He has worked with Canadian and international stars such as Jimmy Heath, Junior Cook, Ed Bickert, Denzal Sinclaire, Shelia Jordan, Ranee Lee, Joe Lovano, Rafael Zaldivar, Mulgrew Miller, Tommy Banks, Maggi Olin, and countless others. In 2020 he moved to Edmonton Alberta where he is currently an assistant Professor and Head of Drums & Percussion at MacEwan University. For more info, please check out davelaing.com.

Trent Reschny

Trent is a graduate of U of R and the University of Toronto’s Jazz program.

He’s played his saxophone locally with Jack Semple, the Regina and Saskatoon Jazz Orchestras, 15 years on Toronto's jazz scene, across Canada with Jully Black, Matt Dusk, Kardinal Offishal, Shad, Luke McMaster, Valery Gore, and with visiting artists The Temptations, The SNL All Stars, Don Rickles, Dukes of Hazzard, Bob Newhart and more.

Dr. Derek Friesen

Derek Friesen is a Saskatchewan-born professional musician and dentist.  He grew up playing in the Regina Lions Band and Regina Catholic School bands.  In 2005, Derek was offered a full-tuition scholarship to study music at Berklee College of Music and was also McGill University’s selection for the Ray-Hnatyshyn-Oscar-Peterson scholarship for top graduating Canadian high school jazz musicians.  Derek elected to study at McGill in hopes of pursuing a future career in dentistry.  However, with music still playing a large part of his life, following his graduation from McGill in 2010, Derek decided to undertake a Master’s degree in music.  Derek received call-back auditions from The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, University of Miami, University of Toronto and eventually ended up choosing to study at New England Conservatory.  In 2012, Derek graduated from New England Conservatory with academic honours.  Derek’s professional music career has taken him to over sixty-five countries and he has worked with and alongside renowned musicians and performers such as Talib Kweli, Charles Bradley, Slide Hampton, Dave Holland, Alan Evans, Cecil McBee, George Cables, and Victor Lewis.  In 2020, Derek’s dream to become a dentist was realized when he graduated from James Cook University in Australia.  Currently, Derek lives in Regina with his wife, Shayann, and two daughters, Nevaeh and Lydia.  Derek and Shayann are very excited to be welcoming a third daughter to the family at the end of July 2023.  Derek practices dentistry alongside his father at Landmark Dental.  Despite being busy with work and life at home, Derek continues to teach and perform music and is a member of Rory Allen’s band.

Nick Fanner

Having retired after 31 years of teaching elementary and secondary band within the Saskatoon Public School Division, Nick continues to be very active in music education, directing the Saskatoon Youth Jazz Orchestra (which he formed in 2017), as well as the Saskatoon Community Bands intermediate concert band and beginner jazz band.  As a sessional lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan, Mr. Fanner has team taught courses in Instrumental Music Teaching in Secondary School, and Brass Techniques (Trumpet), in addition to teaching Jazz Pedagogy and Jazz History.  He continues to be a member of the trumpet section of the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra for many of each season’s performances. Mr. Fanner is honored to be the recipient of the 2022 SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival Special Recognition Award and the 2019 Saskatchewan Band Association’s Distinguished Band Director Award.

Prairielands Jazz Camp Coordinators

David Dick

Dr. David Dick is the Principal Trombone of the Regina Symphony Orchestra and  Dean of the faculty of Media, Art and Performance at the University of Regina, where he also directs the Jazz I Band. His previous teaching appointments have included University of Memphis, Jackson State University, Belhaven University, and Briercrest College. 

Dave is in demand as a clinician and adjudicator, regularly working with bands, jazz bands, and soloists at regional and provincial music festivals. As an active musician, he continues to perform in a wide variety of settings including orchestras, chamber groups, early music ensembles, jazz ensembles, and blues bands.

Cameron Church

Cameron is a graduate of the University of Regina (B.Mus.Ed) and the University of North Texas (M.M. Jazz Studies).  He has studied saxophone with Karen Finnsson, Jim Riggs, and Brad Leali and during that time period also became a member of the music honours society Phi Kappa Lambda.

Cam has had a wide variety of performance opportunities with Carnival Cruise Lines, Regina Symphony Orchestra, Regina Jazz Orchestra, Regina Saxophone Quartet, Bob Moyer Big Band, Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra and as a pit orchestra member in many musicals.