Some familiar faces to the COC are looking to give back to the schools that taught them music

Performing on-stage and in the orchestra pit at the Canadian Opera Company’s spectacular Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is a breathtaking accomplishment. But arriving at that point takes an enormous amount of time, hard work, and determination. It also takes a village.

On May 6, the COC is helping connect artists with the schools that introduced them to the endless possibilities of musical education, through a national initiative called Music Monday. First organized by the Coalition for Music Education in 2005, the annual event celebrates the importance of music in our lives and especially in our schools.

 Hundreds of thousands of children, students, teachers, parents, and community members have pledged to take part – including some familiar faces from our COC family.  As part of Music Monday activities, soprano Ambur Braid, COC choristers James Leatch and Virginia Hatfield, and Sarah Davidson, principal harpist with the COC Orchestra, are headed back to school… virtually, if not physically, for a live and interactive chat with students at their old schools.

 In their own words, the artists share what first sparked their love of music – and why they felt compelled to personally thank their teachers and schools through this initiative. They also threw in some great throwback photos!

Ambur Braid, soprano and graduate of the COC Ensemble Studio
Skeena Middle School, Terrace, B.C.

(l-r) Ambur Braid as a child, singing "Dumb Dog" in a performance of the musical Annie at Terraceview Lodge in B.C. before the Pacific Northwest Music Festival, and Ambur today

Every student needs a creative outlet and a safe space to express themselves in a multitude of ways. I am so grateful to have been brought up in a place like Terrace, BC. We had a thriving music class, a band program, and a theatre program in school as well as a great community choir – The Kermodei Choristers! We also had the incredible Pacific Northwest Music Festival. The festival was an excellent way to push our creative and competitive development and was the event I most looked forward to each year. If I had never had the opportunity to be a part of that in my early development, I would not have found these methods of self-expression, or the people that made me feel like I had a community.

 It’s good to be weird. It’s good to not be able to fit into one category. It’s also good to not peak in high school. Think outside of the box. Learn by interdisciplinary tactics. Music can teach you math. Drama can teach you English and history. Dance can make you a better athlete. But perhaps most of all, all of the aforementioned can teach you empathy.

James Leatch, COC Chorus
Lord Dufferin Public School, Toronto, ON

(l-r) James Leatch in Grade 1 at Lord Dufferin School and now with his dog, Claymore

I have sung as a tenor with the Canadian Opera Company Chorus for over 20 years.  But I grew up on Parliament Street in Toronto and attended Lord Dufferin Public School from Kindergarten to Grade 8. It was at this school that I first sang in a choir and learned to play the tuba. The teachers at Lord Dufferin are truly what instilled in me a love of music. Without their dedication, often given before and after regular school hours, it’s doubtful I would have ever come to love music and, eventually, make it into my career.

Thanks to the solid musical foundation I found at a young age, I later graduated from the opera school at the University of Toronto and, after further music studies in England, performed as a chorister in The Mikado and The Gondoliers with the Stratford Festival for three seasons.  I also sang as a soloist in the United Kingdom, Austria, and Germany. In fact, while in Germany, I recorded the tenor solos in Mozart's "Requiem" and Haydn's "Nelson Mass" for the Southwest German Radio network. I also hold teaching degrees (B.Ed. and M.Ed.) from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, an M.A. from the Royal Military College of Canada, and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Toronto.

I’m incredibly passionate about both music and education and so I’m delighted to be involved with the Music Monday initiative of the Canadian Opera Company!

Virginia Hatfield, COC Chorus and graduate of the COC Ensemble Studio
Hillcrest Public School, Campbellford, ON

(l-r)Virginia Hatfield circa sixth grade at Hillcrest Public School and Virginia these days

Growing up in a small rural farming community in the pre-internet 1980s, heading to school on the bus every morning was, more often than not, both exciting and interesting. There are many siblings in my family, so I've always been comfortable in groups of people, and looked forward to starting school each fall – not only for the brand new school supplies but also as a time to make new friends and reconnect with existing ones. And while my interest in music began in church on Sunday mornings, it was at Hillcrest Public School, in Campbellford, Ontario, that the seeds of a career in musical performance were planted, enriched, and nourished.

 In Mrs. Sonya McFadden's Grade 5/6 class, we learned and performed from memory the song "Somewhere Out There" from the animated movie An American Tail. It was the first time I remember being so enraptured with the sweet melody of song; I knew that in this moment I would have to concentrate on my singing – something that certainly comes up now when faced with the sublime beauty of the melodies of Verdi, Puccini, Strauss, and Mozart! In Grade 6 I also started learning clarinet in the music class taught by Ms. Nancy Elmhirst. For three years she inspired us and helped everyone in the class improve their musical technique on a huge variety of instruments! My admiration for orchestras today is due in no small part to Ms. Elmhirst's dedication and passion.

By Grade 8 I was taking singing lessons and sang "The Wind Beneath My Wings" at our Hillcrest Grade 8 Graduation Ceremony, accompanied by our school librarian, Mrs. Marilyn MacMillan. From then on I knew that I had to make music performance a part of my life.

Virginia in costume for the COC’s 2018 production of Eugene Onegin

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Sarah Davidson, COC Orchestra
Faywood Public School, North York Ont.

Hello there! I’m Sarah Davidson, Principal Harpist of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. More than 50 years ago, however, I was a student at Faywood Public School in North York.   In those days it was a regular public school covering grades Kindergarten to Grade 6 and not the excellent arts school that it is today!        

In the mid-1960s Faywood had a school choir that I loved singing in. I have many fond memories of Faywood and would like to make some new ones by bringing my harp to the school, playing, and sharing that experience with everyone.

In addition to being a professional harpist, I am also a professional harp teacher and believe that music is an essential part of a well-rounded education and must be kept part of the public school curriculum. Many professional colleagues of mine began their life in music, playing their instrument in their public school. It is for this reason I’m especially looking forward to being part of this special event on May 6, Music Monday.