| St. Michael's Choir School | |
| "Bis Orat Qui Cantat" He Who Sings, Prays Twice |
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| Location | |
| Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |
| Information | |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Principal | Mr. Barry White |
| Faculty | 41 |
| Grades | 3-12 |
| Mascot | Spartan |
| Colours | Maroon (Elementary) Navy (Secondary) |
| Established | 1937 |
| Homepage | http://www.smcs.on.ca/ |
St. Michael’s Choir School is a boys' semi-private school located in downtown Toronto's Garden District, embodying a unique learning environment for its students. The school serves as a union between two distinct institutions: the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome and the Toronto Catholic District School Board. While providing rigorous academic instruction for university entrance, the Choir School trains choristers and musicians. The school's small student population lends to a tight-knit community of teachers, Choir School families, and alumni, as well as academic enrichment found in small class sizes.
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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, and is 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.
In 1966, the Choir School entered into an agreement with the Metropolitan Separate School Board to place secular, non-music courses under the publicly funded separate school system. By 1987, the school was fully funded by government with the exception of the music programme, for which students pay fees. This administrative structure remains today, though Choir School teachers continue to instruct students beyond the confines of Ontario's public education curricula. 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".
St. Michael's Choir School is affiliated with the University of St. Michael's College, one of the federated colleges at the University of Toronto. Their boards share many trustees, and many graduates of the Choir School have selected St. Michael's College as their choice college at the University.
Since its founding, the Choir School has provided parishes in the Toronto Diocese and beyond with organists, cantors, conductors, and professional vocalists. The school has 3 choirs, the elementary choir (grades 3-4), the junior choir (grades 5-6), and the senior choir (grades 7-12). The elementary choir is conducted by Teri Dunn, the junior choir by Caron Daley, and the senior choir by Dr. Jerzy Cichocki. The elementary choir is training as they do not sing masses regularly. The junior choir sings at the 10:00 mass on Sundays. The senior choir is made up of two separate choirs, the Saturday choir and the Sunday choir. The Saturday choir sings at Saturday masses at 5:00PM. The Sunday choir sings at the 12:00 mass on Sunday.
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 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 Trinidad and Tobago.
Besides touring, the choir participates in many local events. The Choir School has given Christmas concerts every year since 1937, which are currently held at Massey Hall in downtown Toronto. The two concerts are popular, and the concert hall is usually filled to capacity. 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.
In the spring of 2006, the choir travelled to Philadelphia and Miami where they performed in various concerts.
On October 15, 2007, the Senior and Junior Choir performed at Roy Thompson Hall with many Choir School alumni, including Matt Dusk, Kevin Hearn and The Barenaked Ladies. This event was organised by the SMCS Alumni Association, with proceeds going to the Choir School.
The most recent international tour for the Choir School was in July 2008 when the boys traveled to the Czech Republic for the International Boys and Men’s Choral Festival in Prague.
The 2nd International Boys and Men’s Choral Festival was an outstanding opportunity for St. Michael’s Choir School to participate in rehearsal and concerts with world-renowned conductors and choirs, solo and massed concerts in the historic churches and theatres of Central Europe, including the famous Dvořák Hall in the Rudolfinum, Prague. St. Michael's Choir School was one of four featured choirs at the festival, which took place from June 30 through July 7, 2008.
The boys went to Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City in May 2009 to perform concerts named Cantate Domino, in translation, Sing to the Lord. The program featured sacred music written by some of the best composers like Gabriel Faure and Felix Mendelssohn.
An April 2010 tour also took place, with the choir touring in London, Canada; Chicago, Cleveland, and Buffalo. In Chicago, the boys performed the American national anthem at a Chicago Cubs game.[1]
In May 2011, St. Michael's Choir School went on tour visiting New York, Philadelphia, Princeton, and Washington, and held concerts in Newark, Philadelphia, Bryn Mawr, Princeton, and Crofton. They sang mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.