The Sun Life UpTown Waterloo Jazz Festival announced today the appointment of new Artistic Director, Derek Hines.
“We are very excited to announce Derek’s appointment as Artistic Director for our next Festival which, depending on COVID guidelines, will be held in July, 2022,” said Jackie White, Co-President of the Festival. “Derek has been a friend of the Festival for many years and we are looking forward to working with him in this new capacity.”
Hines has been on the Festival’s Board as Marketing Director for a number of years and performed the role of Artistic Director in putting together the lineup for the 2021 Festival, which was ultimately cancelled due to ongoing pandemic restrictions.
“Derek did a superb job in organizing the Program for this year,” said Steve Joyce, the Festivals’ other Co-President. “He had great ideas, was receptive to input from our Board and an overall pleasure to work with, so we decided to make the appointment official.”
Hines is a well-known, local jazz singer who lives in Kitchener-Waterloo and performs around the Region and Southern Ontario. He is equally at home in a small group setting or with a big band.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of developing and implementing the artistic vision for next year’s Festival,” said Hines. “I know what this event means to our community and I also understand the goals of the organizers to broaden the audience and bring more diversity to the program.” He went on to add, “I am certain fans of our Festival are going to love the next line up – there will be something for everyone.”
Hines’s appointment as Artistic Director comes into effect on August 1, 2021. The Festival Board will begin recruitment for a new Marketing Director soon.
The Sun Life UpTown Waterloo Jazz Festival is a not-for-profit organization run by local volunteers which has presented the Jazz Festival featuring world class Canadian, local and international performers in the City every year (with the exception of 2020 and 2021) since 1993. The Festival is free and attracts over 20,000 fans during the 3-day event.