April 25 Awarded 2008 Doug Richardson Memorial Award
Humber College in Toronto has awarded Eli the $1,000 Doug Richardson Memorial Award for outstanding achievement. Eli accepted the award at the Humber awards ceremony today.
April 23 Awarded International 'Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition'
Eli has been awarded the 2008 Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition (YYPA), and in addition to being selected as the overall saxophonist of the year, he is the only Canadian in the history of the program to win this competition. For more info, please vist the YYPA website here.
(An exceprt from the YYPA website)
"The YYPA program is designed to provide early career recognition for outstanding young musicians in North America. Hundreds of applicants, ages 16-21, apply annually and undergo a rigorous taped audition process for a panel of national celebrity musicians. The 2008 winners join a total of more than 150 others who have earned the distinction since the program’s inception in 1989."
April 1 Awarded 2008 Banff Centre Scholarship
Eli has been awarded a scholarship by the Banff Centre to attend the 2008 Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music led by artistic director Dave Douglas. Eli will be attending with the band "Building Blocks" that features Jon Challoner, Justin Gray, Adam Texiera, and Alex Goodman. For more info, please visit the Banff Centre's website here.
Feb. 26 Awarded 2008 Fraser MacPherson Scholarship
Eli has won the 2008 Fraser MacPherson Scholarship for best college jazz musician in Western Canada. In addition to winning two consecutive years, he is the first musician to win both high-school and college categories. For more info, please visit the Fraser MacPherson Scholarship site here.
Dec. 1 Selected for the Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Felloship Band!
The Clifford Brown/ Stan Getz Fellowship All-Stars is an instrumental combo chosen from an international pool of talented high school students. The program was established through a unique collaboration between IAJE and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA), and provides awards to winners such as a trip to ARTS Week in Miami and instruction from renowned jazz artists and educators. In addition, the group performs every January at the IAJE Annual Conference. Past groups have also been featured at the Monterey and Clifford Brown Jazz Festivals. The program boasts a distinguished list of alumni including Harry Connick Jr., Dianne Reeves, Roy Hargrove, Geoff Keezer and Chris Potter. For more info, please visit NFAA's wesite here, or IAJE's website here.
Sept 20 Featured on CBC Radio's Hot Air Program!
Airing 5pm, Saturday, September 29, 2007. CBC Radio 1.
(Written by Neil Ritchie at www.cbc.ca/hotair)
Vancouver saxophone player Eli Bennet is scarcely 18 years old. But he's already won the $10,000 Oscar Peterson Grant for Jazz Performance, the Dal Richards Scholarship for best young instrumentalist in Western Canada, and several other awards and scholarships this year alone. Perhaps more importantly, he's performed with, and won the respect of, jazz giants including orchestra leadeer Maria Schneider, pianist Hank Jones and trumpet player Roy Hargrove. Earlier this year he was the first horn player with the Grammy Jazz Combo, comprised of the best high school jazz students on the continent. This week we'll hear Eli in a Hot Air studio session and talk with him about his musical future.
Aug. 15 Canada's
highest IAJE Scholarship Award
Eli has won
the IAJE's highest scholarship award for $1000. Please visit the IAJE Canada
website here
for more information.
July 18 Wins Prestigious 2007 Oscar Peterson Award for $10,000!
(Written by Cindy McLeod at jazzelements.com)
Eli Bennett, a gifted young tenor saxophonist who hails from Vancouver,
has won the Oscar Peterson Grant for Jazz Performance from the Hnatyshyn Foundation,
a private charity. Bennett will receive one of eight $10,000 scholarships
awarded to exceptional young Canadians in post-secondary performing arts training
programs. The Hnatyshyn Foundation was established by the late Right Honourable
Ramon John Hnatyshyn, Canada's twenty-fourth Governor General. For more information,
please visit their website here.
July 16 Awarded
a Full Scholarship to Humber College!
In September, Eli will be attending Toronto's Humber College Jazz Program
on a full scholarship embarking on a Bachelors Degree in Contemporary Music.
For more information, please visit their website here.
May 30 2007 Banff Jazz Orchestra Scholarship
Eli has been awarded a scholarship to attend the 2007 Banff Jazz Orchestra. The performance will be at the Banff Centre on June 23 with Maria Schneider, PJ Perry, and Hugh Fraser. See the schedule or visit the Banff Centre website here.
May 19 Wins 2007 Yamaha Kando Award for $4,000!
Eli has won the 2007 Yamaha Kando Award for most outstanding young musician in Canada at MusicFest Canada. The award was presented at the Yamaha All-Star concert/closing ceremonies by the president of Yamaha Canada. For more information visit MusicFest Canada's site here. Thank you to Yamaha and MusicFest Canada.
May 15 Eli Bennett Quartet at Festival Vancouver
Festival Vancouver has announced the line-up for its summer festival, and Eli will be performing with his quartet at the Cellar Jazz Club on August 12. Drummer Corey Fonville from the 2007 Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Combo will be performing with the group. Visit his site here. For more information, please see Festival Vancouver's site here.
May 10 Wins 2007 DownBeat Magazine Student Award!
Eli has won the 2007 DownBeat Magazine Student Award for best Original Song for high-school. The DownBeat Student Awards are presented to the most outstanding young talent in North America, and Eli is honored to accept this award. To read the magazine interview click here, or visit DownBeat's site here.
May 9 Wins 2007 Dal Richards Scholarship for $2,000!
The Coastal Jazz and Blues Society (Vancouver International Jazz Festival) have announced today that Eli is the winner of the 2007 Dal Richards Scholarship, for best young high-school musician. Eli will be featured at the Roundhouse Concert Series at David Lam Park with the Dal Richards Orchestra on June 30. For more information please see the schedule page or the Coastal Jazz and Blues site here.
Eli accepts the Dal
Richards Award at the Vancouver Jazz Festival.
April 4 To Perform With 2007 Yamaha All-Star Band
Eli has been selected to perform with the prestigious 2007 Yamaha All-Star Band at MusicFest Canada, featuring 19 of the finest young high-school musicians in Canada. The band will perform at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts in Vancouver on May 19th. Visit the MusicFest Canada website here for a complete list of events.
April 1 Wins the Honorable Mention Award from ISC
Eli has won the honorable mention award in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition for his composition "Mistaken Perception" in the teen category. Visit the ISC's website here for a complete list of winners.
March 7 Wins 2007 Fraser MacPherson Scholarship for $2,000!
Eli has just won the prestigious 2007 Fraser MacPherson Scholarship for the best young jazz musician in western Canada! The winners are posted at the Vancouver Coastal Jazz and Blues Society's website.
January 15 To Appear On CTV's Canada AM
Eli will be appearing on Canada's number one morning show, Canada AM on CTV. He will be performing solo as well as being interviewed on February 1st at 8:00AM. The interview and performance will be posted on this website along with the other media appearances in the coming weeks.
December 14 Selected to Perform at 2007 GRAMMY Awards!
Eli has been selected from hundreds of high school students accross North America for a position in the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensemble. Thirty students were choosen in total for the program, which includes the GRAMMY Big Band, Choir, and Combo. This is the first year that a horn player has been added to the GRAMMY Combo, and Eli is honoured to have been choosen. More information can be read at the GRAMMY Foundation website by clicking here, or by reading the Press Release issued by the GRAMMY Foundation December 13.
GRAMMY Foundation Press Release:
PDF: Press Release
DOC: Press Release
September 10 To Perform at All-Canadian Jazz Festival
Eli was recently invited to perform at the 2006 All-Canadian Jazz Festival in Port Hope, Ontario with the TD Canada Trust Young Jazz Showcase. The two concerts will feature original compositions including a recent composition by Eli. The festival runs from September 22-24. For more information visit www.allcanadianjazz.com