Los Primos Project

"Los Primos""The Cousins""The First""The Best"

Bringing music students from Canada and Cuba together

Los Primos is a registered not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to promoting music education and excellence in performance through cultural exchange with music schools in Cuba.

Since 1998 when the first group of Cuban music students attended the Acadia Jazz Camp, there has been a very noticeable improvement in the quality of youth jazz in Nova Scotia. It has created a community of young jazz musicians who are serious about their music. Special programs like Nova Scotia Honour Jazz and Jazz East’s Creative Music Workshop have also strengthened this young jazz community and given our students the skills and venues they need to develop into excellent, experienced musicians.

The level of mastery displayed by the Cuban music students has inspired our young musicians to aim higher and it has “raised the bar” for youth jazz in Nova Scotia. During our trips to Cuba the Canadians see that it is the passion and dedication of the Cubans that produce results. They also see that Cuba has 65 arts schools and culture is taken very seriously. Musicians are held in very high regard in Cuba and it is indeed a great opportunity to be accepted into a music school.

There is no musical experience more valuable than to play music with musicians of another culture. This is a two-way exchange. Our Canadian audiences of course want to hear Cuban music but the Cubans want to play jazz. Our students love to play jazz but they want to learn and understand Cuban music. Together they are learning both and also experiencing each others cultures and communities.