Via The Toronto Star: The pandemic was rough on kids — and parents. This free music program offers hope, joy and a bit of raucous fun: ‘It’s like school, but special’

Shawn Earle, CEO of Sistema Toronto, says that while the program prides itself on the quality of its musical training, social development is also a top priority.

“We’re giving students a way to express ideas, and share their thoughts and feelings,” Earle says. “There’s a lot of social skills — empathy, leadership, teamwork, communication — that are inherent to learning a musical instrument in a collaborative setting, and our curriculum makes that explicit.”

“Our goal is to build thoughtful, intelligent, smart, well-rounded young people with music skills, but also the soft skills to take them wherever they want to go after they graduate.”