St. Michael's Choir School

St. Michael's Choir School has held an annual Christmas concert since 1939. From 1939 to 1964, Christmas concerts were held at the Knights of Columbus Hall, attached to James Cooper House, before moving to Massey Hall,[15] where the school celebrated 50 years of performances at the venue in 2015.[16] In 2013, CBC listed the school's Christmas concert as one of Toronto's top 13 classical Christmas events of 2013.[17] The choirs have also performed at Roy Thomson Hall and other venues around the city, both on their own and with other musical groups, including the Victoria Scholars Men's Choral Ensemble[18] and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.[19]

St. Michael's Choir School began touring in 1946[5] and its choirs have performed across Canada and internationally, including in Nova Scotia,[20] Quebec,[21] the Czech Republic,[22] the United States,[23] Germany,[24] and Trinidad and Tobago.[25] In 1971, the school choir sang before Pope Paul VI at a general audience in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.[26] The school choir performed for Pope John Paul II in 1984 during his papal visit to Canada and again in 2002 during World Youth Day.[27] The school choir also performed during Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee visit to Toronto in 2002.[25] In April 2013, the school's choirs toured Italy, which included a performance of "Jubilate Deo," a song composed by the school's founder, for Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square.[28] The 2013 tour was featured in a documentary film by Salt + Light Television.[29]

The school came under scrutiny after 17-year-old student Kenneth Au Yeung died by suicide by leaping off of the Prince Edward Viaduct on December 11, 1997.[30] Earlier that afternoon, Au Yeung and other classmates had earlier been called into principal John Ryall's office and questioned by off-duty police officer Const. Christopher Downer about a prank involving potentially libellous remarks linking the school choir director to a sex scandal. The comments mistakenly found its way into print in the school's yearbook, which Au Yeung had helped edit. There was considerable criticism regarding the presence of the police officer, who was a school alumnus and often visited campus in uniform as the principal's "enforcer," as well as the students being threatened with criminal charges while being denied access to their parents despite being minors. It was the latter that Au Yeung's mother Catherine testified as the direct cause of the suicide during the inquiry. Toronto Police Chief David Boothby intervened such that Const. Downer faced no repercussions.[31][32][33]

The school was mired in controversy over the 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 school community vaguely outlining Dr. Cichocki's dismissal.[34] Following some backlash from the community, a secondary letter from Cardinal Thomas Collins was sent out, reiterating Dr. Cichocki's removal.[35] Further backlash sparked a student-led petition in support of Dr. Cichocki's reinstatement, which was published on December 30, 2016, and earned almost 1000 signatures. The creator stated that "Dr. Cichocki is by far the most qualified candidate to fulfill this noble mission (of the choir school), having had a connection with the school from the age of eight and possessing three graduate degrees in music.”[36] Despite the significant amount of support, the petition was disregarded by the administration.

St. Michael's Choir School's curriculum follows the Ontario Curriculum at both the elementary and secondary levels and places secondary students in the academic steam, where students enrol in university-bound courses. From Grade 5 onwards, students are enrolled in the Extended French program, where they study French as a second language as well as certain subjects, such as geography and history, entirely in French. Graduates earn an Extended French Certificate from the Toronto Catholic District School Board and are considered functionally bilingual upon completing the program.[37][38]

In addition to the Ontario curriculum requirements, students study choral music, piano, and music theory, with the option of studying vocal, music history, and second instruments such as organ, classical guitar, and orchestral string instruments.[39][40] The music program includes daily choral instruction and rehearsals as well as weekly mass duties at St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica.

Students are divided into four choirs based on age and voice type: Elementary (grades 3–4; soprano and mezzo-soprano ranges), Junior (grades 5–6; soprano, mezzo-soprano, and alto ranges), Senior (grades 7–12; soprano, alto, tenor, and bass ranges), and Tenor-Bass (grades 7–12; tenor, baritone, and bass ranges). 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 annual concerts (Founder's Day, Christmas, and Spring concerts).[41] Students from the Junior, Senior and Tenor-Bass choirs also participate in the school's semi-annual tours, which take place around Christmas and in the spring, in Canada and internationally.[42]

St. Michael's Choir School is highly rated by the Fraser Institute's reports on elementary and secondary schools in Ontario. In 2018, the secondary school was given a score of 9.4 out of 10 and ranked second out of 738 secondary schools provincially.[43] The elementary school rated 9.3 out of 10 and ranked 42nd out of 3037 schools in the province and tied for tenth place within the city of Toronto.[44]

Due to the choral and musical instrument requirements at St. Michael's Choir School, admission is by audition only.[45] All students pay tuition fees[46] and must meet the requirements for enrolment with the Toronto Catholic District School Board.[47]

St. Michael's Choir School is located next to St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica and operates out of four buildings at 56, 66, 67 and 69 Bond Street. In 2016, the school's secondary school building, located at 69 Bond Street, was rated as in need of "critical" repairs and had the worst-performing score among Toronto Catholic District School Board secondary schools on the Ontario Ministry of Education's Facility Condition Index.[48] In June 2018, the Ministry of Education announced it would spend CAD $11.2 million to construct a new consolidated school building at 67 Bond Street designed by KPMB Architects.[49][50][51] In 2022, the school announced a revised redevelopment plan with a new six-storey design that incorporates the historic Gothic revival-style façade at 66 Bond Street.[52]