Jazz Camp for Girls in Pori
Jazz Camp for Girls will be held for the third time in Pori from July 12–15, 2024, as part of the Pori Jazz Kids program. The camp is organized in collaboration with the Pori Jazz Festival, the Palmgren Conservatory, and the Finnish Jazz Federation. Jazz Camp for Girls is a concept launched by JazzDanmark in 2014, aimed at inspiring young girls to engage with music.
The goal of Jazz Camp for Girls is to encourage young girls to pursue music. The gender distribution in music, especially jazz, has traditionally been heavily male-dominated, with women often taking on the role of vocalists in bands. The idea behind the Jazz Camp for Girls is to offer the participating girls an inspiring and safe environment where they can try different instruments, play in a band, improvise, and compose music.
The jazz camp is intended for girls and those who identify as girls. The camp is aimed at girls aged 10–15, but the exact age is not a barrier to participation. The most important thing is an interest in trying band playing and learning something new together. Bands will be formed from both beginners and more experienced players, so anyone can join regardless of experience. The only requirement is a desire to play together and meet new friends through music.
“In Denmark, we organize over ten camps a year, and our long-term goal and dream is to expand this activity in Finland as well. We need various tools to correct the gender imbalance in jazz music and the broader music industry. Jazz Camp for Girls offers one proven and impactful tool to achieve this goal.”
-Maria Silvennoinen, Executive Director, Finnish Jazz Federation
“The idea is to get more female jazz musicians. They are still quite rare. I think this is a good way to inspire younger girls to discover instruments that are perhaps typically chosen by boys, like the drum set.”
-Bassist Kaisa Mäensivu (HS)
“I had actually never tried the electric bass before. This was the first time.”
-Elena Lönnroth, participant in the Turku camp 2023 (HS)
At the camp, bands will be formed with both beginners and more experienced musicians, so anyone can join regardless of their musical background. The Pori camp instructors are musician and music educator Jasmin Afaneh and Palmgren Conservatory’s bass instructor Tomi Harrivaara. With the guidance of the teachers, children will get inspired to play music using new methods and will have the opportunity to make music together. The camp will culminate in a final concert at the Puuvilla Shopping Center event square on Monday, July 15th at 12:00 PM.
The camp is free of charge for participants. Register by filling out the form (in Finnish only) found at this link by June 21, 2024.
The activities are supported by the Nordic Culture Fund and the Music Promotion Foundation.
Photo: Tomi Vastamäki