Additional Information
The Université Laval Jazz Competition was created in 2014 by the excellent pianist and associate professor Rafael Zaldivar. The competition had originally been set up to “enhance the expertise in performing and creating in the jazz tradition within the Faculty of Music at Université Laval”. Today, the competition attracts performer-creators from across Quebec’s academic community, providing a unique forum for exchange between university and college students. The competition’s evaluation criteria are based on interaction, composition, improvisation, transcription, transposition and sight-reading. A hand-picked jury will evaluate the candidates, who will perform on October 3 and 4, starting at 6 p.m., at Université Laval’s Théâtre de la Cité Universitaire (TCU). The winner of the first Université Laval Excellence Award will receive $7,000, plus the opportunity to perform in concert at the Festival Québec Jazz in June 2025. He or she will also have the chance to shoot a professional-quality video at Université Laval’s LARC studio, accompanied by the festival’s production team. The second-place winner (best artistic talent) will receive $5,000 and a guaranteed presence at the Festival Québec. 3. Third place (Gabriel Hamel Emerging Talent Award) will receive $3,000 and a concert at the Festival Québec Jazz. All good reasons to interview Rafael Zaldivar on PAN M 360. Alain Brunet conducted this interview.