Award-winning music educator Marty Summers has been sharing his talents and expertise with the arts community since 1976, provincially, nationally and internationally. As a music educator with the Langley School District for the past thirty-three years, Marty has become well known for his outstanding enthusiasm and dedication to arts education, inspiring many young musicians that have gone on to great success in multiple musical genres, including jazz, rock, classical and opera. Outside of the classroom, he is coordinator of the BC Music Educators Association's Provincial Honour Jazz Band and the scholarship committee, a long time committee member for the Envision Jazz Festival, and was selected to become, and continues to be, a music faculty member at Trinity Western University.
Most notably, Marty served as president of Canadian section of the International Association for Jazz Education from January, 2005 to July 2008, piloting new projects geared towards the recognition and support of our national talent through partnerships with the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, Jazz Festivals Canada, Verve Records, and the Canada Council for the Arts. He has also become an in-demand adjudicator and clinician, working with Concert and Jazz Bands at festivals and conferences in the Yukon, and throughout Western Canada.
Jazz Report magazine presented Marty with the Outstanding Canadian Secondary Jazz Program Award in 1997.This prestigious national award was selected by professional musicians, and music educators from across the country.
Marty's outstanding service to arts education in British Columbia was officially recognized in 2003 by the British Columbia Music Educator’s Association, as they presented him with the distinguished Professional Music Educator Award, solidifying his reputation as a leader in his field.
Ultimately, Marty hopes to further expand his reach to the arts community through his work with the British Columbia Music Educator’s Association, the newly formed Canadian Association for Jazz Educationall the while doing his part to ensure that music education remains alive and well in Canada.