St. Michael's Choir School

History

The school was founded in 1937 by John Edward Ronan. It was founded to provide sacred music to St. Michael's Cathedral, but did not originally have a full academic programme. Monsignor Ronan was a graduate of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music and was a prolific composer, though much of his work remains unpublished. Ronan remained principal of the school until his death in 1962.

In 1966, the Choir School entered into an agreement with the Metropolitan Separate School Board (now called the Toronto Catholic District 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 has held an annual Christmas concert since 1939. From 1939–1964, Christmas concerts were held at the Knights of Columbus Hall attached to James Cooper House on Sherbourne Street, and in December 1964 the venue changed to Massey Hall, where it has been held ever since. In 2013, CBC listed the Choir School’s Christmas concert as one of Toronto’s top 13 classical Christmas events of 2013. The choirs have also performed at Roy Thomson Hall as well as various venues around the city, both on their own and with other musical groups, including the Victoria Scholars and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

St. Michael’s Choir School tours frequently within Canada and abroad having recently performed in Nova Scotia, Quebec, the Czech Republic and the United States. In April 2013, St. Michael's Choir School went on a 12-day tour to Florence and Rome in Italy. The school performed 'Jubilate Deo', a song composed by the school's founder, John Edward Ronan, at the papal audience on April 10, for Pope Francis.

Notable Choir School instructors have included composer and piano virtuoso John Arpin, who taught piano from 1956–57, and Canadian Opera Company tenor John Arab, who taught vocal from 1954 until his death in 2000.

A documentary film about the school and its tour of Italy was made in 2013 by Salt + Light Television.

Academic and choral programmes

St. Michael’s Choir School administers a full academic programme as well as the music programme, with all students being enrolled in both. In addition to the classroom requirements, students study choral music, piano and music theory, with the option of studying second instruments. St. Michael’s regularly scores high in the Fraser Institute report for both elementary and secondary schools. In 2012–2013, the secondary programme was given a score of 9.9 out of 10, and ranked 1st out of 740 high schools rated by the institute. The elementary programme rated 9.9 out of 10 and was ranked 1st out of 3030 schools.

The choral music programme includes daily choral instruction as well as weekly Mass duties at St. Michael’s Cathedral. There are four choirs at the school: Elementary (grades 3–4), Junior (grades 5–6), Senior (grades 7–12) and Tenor Bass (grades 7–12, changed voices). Each choir has Mass duties, but the Elementary Choir, as a training choir, sings only a handful of Masses every year. All choirs participate in the three major annual concerts, but only the Junior, Senior and Tenor Bass choirs tour with the school.

Due to the choral requirement at St. Michael’s Choir School, admission is by audition only. All students must also meet the standard requirements for enrollment with the Toronto Catholic District School Board. The Choir School supports a varied sports programme in addition to academics and music. In 2012, their senior volleyball team placed first in the Toronto District Catholic Athletic Association tournament and won a bronze medal at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations.

Performances

In 1971 the choir of the school sang before Pope Paul VI, at a general audience in St. Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican City, in Rome, Italy.

In 2013, the choir of the school again performed in the Vatican City, in St. Peter's Square for Pope Francis.

In 2015, the choir school celebrated 50 years of performances at Massey Hall.

Discography

Notable people

Controversy

The school came under scrutiny after 17-year-old student Kenneth Au Yeung committed suicide by leaping off of the Prince Edward Viaduct in December 1997. Au Yeung and other classmates had earlier been called into principal's office and questioned by an off-duty police officer, about a prank involving potentially libellous remarks linking the school choir director to a sex scandal. It mistakenly found its way into print in the school's yearbook, which Au Yeung had helped edit.

The school is further mired in controversy over the recent removal of its Artistic Director, Dr. Jerzy Cichocki, a 25-year plus employee and alumnus. A letter dated December 28, 2016 by the school's director, Stephen Handrigan, was sent to the entire Choir School community outlining Dr. Cichocki's dismissal. Following some backlash from the community, a secondary letter from the Cardinal was sent out, reiterating Dr. Cichocki's removal. A student-led petition in support of Dr. Cichocki's reinstatement was made on December 30, 2016 and earned almost 1000 signatures.