The Open Studios Jazz Combo Lessons
There are 2 sessions available:
Jazz Combo A meets
Saturdays 11:00-12:00
Jazz Combo B meets
Saturdays 12:00-1:00
The Open Studios are located at 634 Humboldt st. in Nootka Court
The recommended age for programming is 13-19 years old, however, if there is demand for a younger or older cohort, we may be able to accommodate in a separate session.
Clearly, we can’t have 12 guitar players in a band! You may be asked if you are available for the other time slot if it makes more sense in terms of instrumentation.
Meet your Instructor!
Devin Hawthorne (he/they) is an educator, conductor, performing musician (bassoon), and clinician. He currently lives on unceded
lək̓ ʷəŋən territory, and is grateful to be present on those lands as an uninvited settler. Devin recently completed their post-secondary education at the University of Victoria, obtaining a B.Mus. (2024) and B.Ed. (2025) with distinction. As a lifelong learner, they hope to continue to learn, grow, and evolve their teaching practice in a good way while also sharing their knowledge and passion for music.
As an educator, Devin works as a TTOC in SD63 (Saanich) on the unceded territory of the W̱ SÁNEĆ people. He strives to bring joy, community, and dedication to the craft of music with learners aged 5-18 every day. Devin finds that classroom teaching is rich, rewarding, and complex – especially for learners with diverse needs and abilities. They believe strongly that music should be accessible for everyone. When they aren’t teaching publicly, Devin also maintains a small studio of high school bassoon students in grades 9-12 in the Victoria region. Outside of the classroom you can find Devin performing and directing! They have served as a bassoonist in a number of ensembles including the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra, Meridiem Wind Orchestra, Bach on the Rock Orchestra, and Salish Sea Bassoon Collective. They also play in pit orchestras for middle and high school shows in SD 63.
His favourite part of performing is definitely the people – both within the ensemble and in the audience. They hold firmly to the belief that music is meant to be shared and experienced with others in as many settings as possible. As director of the GVCB Junior band, Devin aims to provide audiences with fun, musically rich performances 3-4 times per year while creating a welcoming, community-focused musical space for adults of all-ages.
