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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.
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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 2025 we are pleased to have had the following fantastic clinicians:
Plus we have our fantastic Jazz Camp Coordinators: Dr. David Dick, Cameron Church
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| Margaret Donovan Margaret Donovan is an accomplished jazz trombonist, composer and educator in the Montreal area. As a recent graduate from McGill University, she frequently performs as a leader and sideman in various venues around town. During her time at McGill she studied under musicians Dave Grott, Jean-Nicolas Trottier, Camille Thurman and Remi Bolduc. Margaret has performed at the Montreal summer Jazz Festival and has shared the stage with musical legends such as Louis Hayes, Dan Brubeck, Ira Coleman and others. She is well experienced in big band settings, small jazz ensembles, Balkan brass ensembles, swing dance bands, musical theatre pit bands and more. |
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| 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. |
Darryl Ferguson Darryl Ferguson is a trumpet player and band director from Winnipeg. Darryl has a Master’s of Music in Trumpet Performance from the University of South Florida and multiple other degrees from universities in Manitoba. Darryl teaches the band program at Acadia Junior High School in Winnipeg and has decades of experience in teaching and directing band. Darryl is an accomplished trumpet player, having performed in many ensembles including the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Cambridge Brass Quintet. Apart from playing his instrument, Darryl also is an experienced clinician, guest conductor, adjudicator, and director of band events. |
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Mo Lefever Mo Lefever has been playing guitar since age 9. Growing up in Medicine Hat, she participated in many music festivals and entertained at weddings and retirement parties. Throughout high school, Mo played trumpet in concert band and guitar in stage band and developed a true love for jazz music. After high school, Mo moved to Edmonton to attend the Grant MacEwan College music program to study there. She met many of the musicians she would collaborate with later, including the disco infernos of GODIVA, and Brett Miles' Magilla Funk Conduit. Mo currently plays in several jazz trios and a top forty cover band called The Urbanites. She has been teaching guitar for the past 11 years and have had students ranging from age 6 to 84. |
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| 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 taught at McGill University, St. George’s School of Montreal, and 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. Donny is now living in Saskatchewan with his family. |
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André White André White is a renowned Canadian jazz musician, producer, and educator. He is a versatile musician, playing both piano and drums, and is known for his work in jazz and as a recording engineer/producer. While originally from Montreal, he and his wife, Jihye Im, have recently moved to Saskatchewan. |
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Jihye Im Jihye Im is a jazz pianist, composer, arranger and educator. She spent years actively performing on the Montreal jazz scene. She recently completed her masters in Jazz Performance at McGill University. She identifies strongly with the rich and varied jazz piano tradition. |
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 | 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. |
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| 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. |
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 | Dave Watts Montreal jazz bassist, composer and educator Dave Watts is becoming a veteran of the Canadian jazz scene. Dave released his debut album in 2010, entitled “Will it Rain?”, which Peter Hum from the Ottawa Citizen named one of his top ten picks for the Canadian 2010 jazz albums of the year. Since that release, Dave has continued to compose and perform with this group and plans on releasing new material in the upcoming months. As a bassist, Dave can be heard on over 15 albums, two of which won a Quebec Opus Award and two were nominated for a Canadian Juno Award. |
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| 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. |
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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. |
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