Projects & Partnerships
Each year, Sistema Toronto engages professional musicians, music organizations, and music specialists to work with our students, giving them the chance to experience different musical genres, explore music from various cultures and traditions, and learn additional musical skills. These engagements also give us the opportunity to present our students with even more diverse representations of success.
2025/26 projects and partnerships
Promise of Music Congress
On October 8th of 2025, after a summer of rehearsals, our senior and honours students gave an outstanding performance at Koerner Hall as part of The Promise of Music: the first world congress on the social impact of music.
Our students performed Mozart’s Symphony 25 before taking to the stage with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra to perform two pieces: Honour Song, which was gifted to NBYO by Mi’Kmaq elder George Paul, and music accompanying Dan Brown’s whimsical children’s book Wild Symphony alongside live narration voiced by Viggo Mortenson.
The evening was a resounding success, showcasing our students’ talent as musicians and their capacity for collaboration and deep engagement. The performance was greeted with enthusiastic applause from audiences, leaving students with joy and pride at their incredible accomplishment.
Jane Finch Spring Concert: Lift Every Voice
During the Winter 2026 term, students at Sistema Toronto – Jane Finch brought the year’s theme of Community to life through music and collaboration, exploring community identity through the Black national anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing.
Throughout the term, students at each of our Jane Finch schools engaged in discussions around identity, community, and multiculturalism while reflecting on the many communities they are part of. Together, they reflected on who they are and what they stand for while rehearsing Lift Every Voice and Sing as an ensemble.
On June 2nd, the students from each of our Jane Finch schools came together along with special guests newchoir to perform Lift Every Voice and Sing in a free public performance at the York Woods Library Theatre.
Creative Collaboration with Aaron Manswell
Beginning in January 2026, students at our Scarborough centre created their own original composition with guidance from award-winning composer Aaron Manswell. During a two-part workshop on creative composition, Manswell worked with students to develop a list of themes that were important to them, including Peace, Bullying, Parents, Safety, Denial, and Pressure. Students voted on their final theme of Trying, before writing lyrics and a melody that became the song’s hook. The final piece, entitled Try, was developed by Manswell using the students’ work.
Students spent the month of May working alongside the vocalists of the Nathaniel Dett Chorale to rehearse the piece in preparation for its world premiere on May 29th at the NDC’s season closing concert.
This project was generously funded by SOCAN Foundation, Toronto Arts Council, and Desjardins Foundation.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Sistema Toronto students at all centres have had the opportunity to learn from Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, Barrett Principal Education Conductor and Community Ambassador for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Throughout the 2025/26 year, Bartholomew-Poyser, along with musicians from the TSO, visited each centre to offer interactive workshops on bow technique and playing posture.
Women in Musical Leadership
Through a partnership with Women in Musical Leadership, conductor Jennifer Tung visited our centres for workshops with the honours students. Tung is the Conducting Fellow in the inaugural year of the Women in Musical Leadership Program: a three-year program led by Tapestry Opera, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Pacific Opera Victoria designed to collectively develop the next generation of female and non-binary conductors and music directors in Canada.
Jams Sessions in Partnership with Toronto Public Library
As part of our efforts to bring Sistema Toronto’s programming to more children across Toronto, we have partnered with the Toronto Public Library to offer Djembe Jams, Cello Jams, Music & Movement (M&M) Jams, and Violin Jams: a free workshops available at the York Woods, Downsview, and Parkdale Public Libraries.
New for the 2025-26 year is Cello Jams: our first initiative for older learners. Offered to students ages 14+, this series of 8 sessions taught the fundamentals of the cello: how to unpack, set up, and take care of a cello and bow; how to make a good sound using bow and pizzicato; how to read, write, and play quarter and half note rhythms; and how to play notes on the bass clef.
Past Projects and Partnerships
Reggae Roots with Jah'Mila
In January and February of 2025, Sistema Toronto partnered with Jamaican-born reggae singer/songwriter Jah’mila for a four day learning series residency reflecting on the historical, social, cultural, and spiritual importance of reggae music. This residency took place at Sistema Toronto’s Jane-Finch centre where a larger portion of the community identify with Caribbean heritage and ancestry.
The residency culminated in a public performance on March 7th at the York Woods Library Theatre, featuring Sistema Toronto students singing and playing in an orchestra joined by Jah’mila and her band.
This project was made possible by SOCAN Foundation and funding from the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.
newchoir
In November 2024, Sistema Toronto partnered with newchoir, a Toronto-based pop choir, to sing two songs by contemporary queer artists: Proud by Tegan and Sara, and Ever New by Beverly Glenn-Copeland. Choir leader, Scott Pietrangelo, arranged the songs for performance by a choir, and then joined Sistema Toronto alongside members of newchoir for an inspiring afternoon of music at our Parkdale centre: 60 Sistema Toronto students sang alongside 60 members of newchoir with accompaniment from a three-piece rock band and 10 Sistema students playing their string instruments.
Aaron Manswell
In 2024, hip-hop artist, educator, and producer Aaron Manswell visited Sistema Toronto – Yorkwoods to teach students about the history of hip-hop, music production, and the elements of hip-hop culture. Participating students created two original hip-hop tracks, Earth and Skibbidy.
Sistema Toronto also commissioned Manswell to compose an original piece for our students in his signature “off-spring” style, combining elements of classical and popular music. In February of 2024, Manswell taught the piece, titled Race Car, to students at Sistema Toronto – Scarborough who then premiered it in June at their end of term concert.
This project was made possible through the support of SOCAN Foundation.
Volcano Theatre
Canadian vocalist and songwriter SATE visited Sistema Toronto – Scarborough to lead students in four vocal workshops where they rehearsed songs from the opera Treemonisha. Students learned about the opera, its history, context, and composer Scott Joplin, and prepared two songs for performance at St. Lawrence Centre.
After the workshops, students travelled to St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts to watch the preview performance of Treemonisha and sing two songs along with the cast.
WAY: We Are Young
Throughout February and March of 2024, students at Sistema Toronto – Parkdale worked with Cody Coyote and Saukrates in a multi-part workshop to write, rehearse, and record the lyrics and instrumentals for their own original song, entitled W.A.Y: We Are Young. The workshop culminated in the creation of a music video with professional videographer Zac Facts, and students had the opportunity to perform the song live at their year-end concert.
This project was supported by SOCAN Foundation and Toronto Arts Council with funding from the City of Toronto.
Scarborough Celebrates Women Composers
On March 2, 2024, the Sistema Toronto Honours Orchestra joined with the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Strings Orchestra, and Oliver Mowat Collegiate Institute String Orchestra to present a program featuring women composers. The musicians were conducted by Jennifer Tung through Sistema Toronto’s partnership with Women in Musical Leadership.
Penpa Tsering
In May of 2024, our students worked on activities and repertoire by Asian musicians and composers. Our Parkdale students had the chance to learn about Tibetan culture and language from Penpa Tsering, and work on the song We Tibetan Nomads, which they performed with Tsering in their June concert.
TORQ
In April and May of 2024, students at Sistema Toronto – Lambton Park had the opportunity to learn from and perform with members of TORQ percussion ensemble.
Aportia Chryptych
In June of 2024, CEO Shawn Earle attended the premiere of Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White to accept the gift of a suite of pieces from the opera, arranged for our students. The original music, composed by Sean Mayes with lyrics by HAUI, was arranged for our students by composer Anita Pari, and will be performed as part of our 2024-2025 season.