St. Michael's Choir School

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St. Michael's Choir School
Bis Orat Qui Cantat
He Who Sings, Prays Twice
Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Information
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Principal Mr. Domnic Melino
Faculty 41
Grades 3-12
Mascot Spartan
Colours maroon (Elementary), and navy blue (Secondary)
Established 1937
Homepage http://www.smcs.on.ca/
Crest image © St. Michael's Choir School
One of the buildings that houses St. Michael's Choir School
One of the buildings that houses St. Michael's Choir School

St. Michael’s Choir School is an all-boys' semi-private school located in downtown Toronto, Canada that embodies a unique learning environment for its students. The school serves as a union between two distinct institutions: the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music and the Toronto Catholic District School Board. While providing rigorous academic instruction, the Choir School also trains choristers and musicians.

Contents

[edit] History

St. Michael's Choir School was founded in 1937 by Msgr. John Edward Ronan to facilitate the training of a professional boys' choir for St. Michael's Cathedral in Toronto, Canada. The official name of the school at the time was "Cathedral Schola Cantorum" and was a privately-run institution. On May 17, 1955, St. Michael's Choir School was accorded an affiliation with the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome, one of only seven choirs and choir schools in the world with such an affiliation. With its affiliation with the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, the school has the power to grant degrees in Sacred Music[citation needed]. In 1987, the Choir School completed fifty years of service, and in recognition of this milestone, Art Eggleton, the mayor of Toronto at the time, declared June 15, 1987 as the official "St. Michael’s Choir School Day".

[edit] Choral Excellence

From its beginning, the school has provided parishes in the Toronto Diocese and beyond with organists, cantors, conductors, and professional vocalists. The Choir sings at St. Michael's Cathedral every weekend and sing every weekday.

St. Michael's Choir School tours twice a year--a one-week tour in December, and a two to three week concert tour immediately following Easter. Touring commenced in 1971, with the choir performing in England and Italy, and competing in (and winning) the International Choral Festival in Cork. Since then, the choir has toured across Canada and the continental United States, as well as making concert appearances throughout Western Europe and in Trinidad and Tobago.

Besides touring, the choir participates in many local events. The Choir School has given Christmas concerts every year since 1937; currently they are held at Massey Hall in downtown Toronto. The two concerts that the choir performs are popular, and the concert hall is usually filled to capacity[citation needed]. These Christmas Concerts have become a vital tradition to life at St. Michael's Choir School.

The Choir School has performed for many notable individuals, including His Holiness Pope John Paul II during the 1984 Papal Visit and during World Youth Day 2002, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in October 2003 and former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in 2003. The choir also participated in a charity performance at Toronto's Rogers Centre with Jackie Chan, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Wayne Gretzky in November 2001.

The choir's tradition of excellence and high standards of musical achievement have drawn parallels with the Vienna Boys Choir, which St. Michael's Choir defeated in competition at the International Choral Festival.

The choir was most recently on the international stage in April 2005. A two-week tour took a choir of nearly 150 to the western Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. After the Canadian portion of the tour, the choir travelled to California. They visited Salinas, which recently, because of municipal deficits, closed the public libraries in the city. The chair-elect of the Salias Chamber of Commerce had seen the choir perform at St. Michael's Cathedral. He arranged to have them visit the area in late April to give benefit concerts for the Salinas libraries. Two very successful benefits were given. The first was in the town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, where the choir was introduced by the Canadian consul-general in California Alain Dudoit. The final concert of the tour was to a packed house in Salinas. The concerts raised enough money to re-open partially the libraries[1]. The appearances generated press comment from Toronto to Los Angeles[citation needed].

In the spring of 2006, the choir travelled to Philadelphia and Miami where they performed concerts.

On October 15th 2007, the Senior and Junior Choir performed at Roy Thompson Hall with many of the Choir School alumni including Matt Dusk, Kevin Hearn and The Barenaked Ladies. This event was a success and made possible by the SMCS Alumni to help fundraise for the Choir School.

[edit] House system

Students from grades 7 to 12 are divided among four school houses, which are dedicated to notable Choir School community members for their committed service to the school. The house system is used to build team spirit, school spirit, as well as an enjoyable time to complete certain tasks. The school houses are as following:

  • Ronan
  • Somerville
  • Mann
  • Armstrong

[edit] Distinguished Alumni

[edit] Upcoming Concerts

Saturday, April 26th 2008 - 7:30 p.m., St. Michael's Cathedral, "Music of the Americas" (All Choirs) St. Michael's Choir School’s Spring Concert features Music of the Americas – music which has emerged over the centuries by composers from the “New World”. Experience the moving music of our founder Msgr. John Edward Ronan; music of our recently-retired music director, Msgr. T. Barrett Armstrong and De profundis by our own composer in residence – Tomáš Dušatko. Enjoy the exuberant music of Brazilian Ernani Aguiar with its infectious rhythms. Works by Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Morten Lauridsen, Imant Ramish, Nancy Telfer, Ruth Watson Henderson, and Healey Willan will also be included in this programme as the choirs take you on a musical tour of the Americas.

Friday, May 2nd 2008 - 7:30 p.m., St. Isaac Jogues Parish, "Music of the Americas" (Senior Choirs) St. Michael's Choir School’s Spring Concert features Music of the Americas – music which has emerged over the centuries by composers from the “New World”. Experience the moving music of our founder Msgr. John Edward Ronan; music of our recently-retired music director, Msgr. T. Barrett Armstrong and De profundis by our own composer in residence – Tomáš Dušatko. Enjoy the exuberant music of Brazilian Ernani Aguiar with its infectious rhythms. Works by Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Morten Lauridsen, Imant Ramish, Nancy Telfer, Ruth Watson Henderson, and Healey Willan will also be included in this programme as the choirs take you on a musical tour of the Americas.

Friday, December 12th 2008 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 13th 2008 3:00 p.m. - Massey Hall 69th Annual Christmas Concert More information to follow.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Toronto Star article

[edit] External links

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