Ribble Valley Jazz & Blues - Mission Statement

Ribble Valley Jazz & Blues’ mission is to promote and develop the cultural, economic and social benefits of jazz and blues music to individuals and communities in the North West from its base in Clitheroe and the Ribble Valley.

Running an annual jazz festival, supported by Arts Council guidance &resources, gives an amazing opportunity to create an experience for a wider group of people to enjoy a great arts & great jazz in the largest rural rural area in Lancashire, a predominantly white middle class area.

Here’s a chance to create Life Changing Experiences through the arts for people otherwise less inclined to explore cultural diversity, as well as providing work for musicians.

The festival is also an opportunity for RVJ&B to develop these new areas of work:

  1. profiling internationally,
  2. cultural diversity and working with people on low incomes;
  3. reaching out to new audiences through digital media (supported by Jazz North); 
  4. recruitment of new partners and sponsors in the quest for sustainability.

In developing our commitment to participation in jazz, we need to reassess our capacity to manage ever increasing commitments. We are currently aiming to appoint our first part-time paid festival manager. We will widen our approaches to setting up broad based accessible festival programmes that support cultural diversity:-a. by carefully developing an approach to working internationally, with support from the national Jazz Promotion Network, and by developing working partnerships with European Jazz Promoters/Agencies such as the Association Jazze Croise (France), Going Dutch, Sounds of Denmark.

We will achieve this by:

  1. Creating a thriving jazz and blues community involving both musicians and fans in planning and developing jazz and blues appreciation and participation;
  2. Ensuring the future of jazz and blues by prioritising the involvement of young people in performing and appreciating jazz and blues music;
  3. Facilitating the enjoyment and appreciation of jazz and blues music by providing a variety of opportunities for the performance of jazz and blues music primarily in Clitheroe and the Ribble Valley;
  4. Encouraging the sharing of knowledge, information and skills in a stimulating and entertaining environment;
  5. Working collaboratively with voluntary, public and private sector organisations who have a mutual interests in promoting the cultural, economic and social assets of Clitheroe and the Ribble Valley.