On March 7th, Juno-nominated reggae artist Jah’Mila will join 40 students from Sistema Toronto for Reggae Roots, a collaborative concert celebrating reggae music. Supported by SOCAN Foundation and the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, and sponsored by Yamaha, Long & McQuade, and Moveable Print, the event will feature a rich blend of musical styles, combining reggae beats with orchestral sounds to demonstrate the power of music to connect, inspire, and uplift communities.
Sistema Toronto is a grassroots charity that offers free social development and music education to children in some of Toronto’s most underserved communities, with the goal of promoting transformative social action. The impact of this programming extends far beyond the world of music: Sistema students work together for 10 hours each week where they not only exercise their artistic talent, but develop essential life skills such as teamwork, discipline, and self-confidence. As part of an initiative in the 2024/5 school year to teach students about music and identity, Sistema Toronto has teamed up with Jah’Mila to offer students a three-day workshop series that will culminate in the Reggae Roots concert on March 7th.
Jah’Mila is a Juno-nominated reggae singer from Kingston, Jamaica, who now resides in Nova Scotia. A beacon for Jamaican music and culture in Atlantic Canada, Jah’Mila‘s music embodies the spirit of traditional Jamaican roots reggae music, infused with light elements of jazz and soul. No stranger to the collision of reggae and orchestral sounds, Jah’Mila has previously collaborated with National Arts Centre Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the Symphony Nova Scotia.
Using her music as a platform for social advocacy, Jah’Mila’s work offers a vision of a more inclusive, diverse, and supportive arts community: a vision that she shares with Sistema Toronto, whose lessons throughout February focused on topics related to Black History Month.
Students learned about Black musicians, the influence of Black music on various genres, and sang and played music by James Weldon Johnson and Oscar Peterson. Jah’Mila’s workshop series and the Reggae Roots performance cap off this learning with strong messaging about unity and social action.
“Since we were all living on the motherland, music has been such an inseparable part of our lives as Black people and we still use it today as an instrument of change,” says Jah’Mila, speaking on the importance of Black history for musicians. “There’s no Black history without music, and there is no music without Black history.”
Prior to Jah’Mila’s residency, Sistema Toronto Teaching Artists are working with students to learn two songs from Jah’Mila’s repertoire, titled Rise and Sugar and Spice. Jah’Mila will then work with students, refining their musicality and style in playing these songs, teaching them about the historical importance of reggae music and its influence on other genres, and helping students explore rhythm and groove using their voices and instruments.
“We’re thrilled that our students will have the chance to perform alongside Jah’Mila” says Shawn Earle, CEO of Sistema Toronto. “The combination of reggae beats with orchestral instruments and sounds is a musical representation of the unity and cooperation they’ve been learning about throughout our Black History Month programming. We’re excited to see the results of their hard work and share this music with the Jane and Finch community.”
The Reggae Roots concert will take place on Friday, March 7th from 7-8pm at the York Woods Library Theatre (1785 Finch Ave. W). Tickets are available on a pay-what-you-can basis, with a suggested donation of $20 or more to Sistema Toronto. For more information and to reserve your tickets, visit: www.Sistema-Toronto.ca/JahMila
For media inquiries or more information, please contact:
Kelsy Vivash
Marketing and Communications Manager
Sistema Toronto
416-545-0200
About Sistema Toronto:
Sistema Toronto is a free after-school music and social development program for children living in underserved communities with the end goal of transformative social change. Students have the opportunity to learn together for 10 hours each week where they play in orchestras, sing in choirs, and beat drums in drum ensembles. Through their programming, Sistema Toronto aims to build stronger communities by enabling children from marginalized neighbourhoods to grow and thrive as engaged citizens and future leaders.