MEET JONATHAN BELL

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Jonathan recently retired after 25 years with the Calgary Board of Education. During that time, jazz bands, concert bands, and choirs under his direction have consistently been recognized at national and international levels.

Jonathan was honoured by the Alberta Music Advocacy Alliance for his outstanding achievement and commitment to excellence in music education in 2023, and was awarded the Alberta Band Association’s “Outstanding Jazz Educator Award” in 2022.

In addition to his work as a clinician and educator, Jonathan has developed curriculum for the Calgary Board of Education's Locally Developed Courses since 2005. He is on the executive of Calgary Association for the Development of Music Education (CADME), that, since its inception, has invested over $1,000,000 in music education throughout Southern Alberta. More recently, Jonathan has joined the team at Mount Royal University leading custom workshops and clinics. In 2019, he joined the faculty of Westwinds Music Society, a not-for-profit community organization that supports lifelong learning for over 500 Calgarians of all abilities in jazz bands, wind bands, in addition to string and choral ensembles.

Jonathan completed his Bachelor of Education at the University of Calgary, received his Bachelor of Music at Queen’s University, and his Diploma in Jazz Studies from Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton. Big Bands under his leadership have shared the stage with Melissa Aldana, Luis Bonilla, Ingrid Jensen, Al, Kay, Victor Goines, Wycliffe Gordon, Bryan Lynch, Bob Mintzer, Ted Nash, Dick Oatts, Marcus Printup, Maria Schneider, Terell Stafford, and Gary Smulyan, to name a few.

Jonathan approaches his ensembles with a passion for discovery and has a soft spot for quality repertoire and music that sounds good.