The Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts Music Department is dynamic, energetic and always busy!
Our music students perform many times in the year in school based concerts at Christmas and in the spring. We also frequently perform outside of the school in large groups, small groups, at music festivals and competitions, and nationally and internationally on our biennial music trips.
There are 5 rehearsal classrooms, 3 practice studios and our state of the art, professional theatre, but you’ll find Carter music students practicing their music all over the school, wherever there’s a little space!
Private Lessons
We organize the opportunity for our students to receive private instruction (at an additional cost) in your instrument or voice, from some of the top professional musicians in the country. Our private teachers are performers in the National Ballet Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company and Orchestra, The Toronto Symphony, Brampton Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Talisker Players, Hannaford Street Silver Band, the Shaw Festival Orchestra and many other professional jazz and choral ensembles. Private lessons are offered optionally, at the school during instructional time.
Liturgical Music
As a Catholic community, we have monthly Liturgies and Para- liturgies and the Music Department is a big part of these celebrations, with the choir, small instrumental ensembles and vocal and instrumental soloists having opportunities to lead the community in prayer through music every month.
Musical Theatre
The CCAA community has produced and presented amazing musical, including Guys and Dolls (1995), Oklahoma! (1998) The Music Man (2002) Seussical (the Musical) (2005), Crazy for You (2007), Footloose (2009), Les Misérables (2011) and Legally Blonde (2013). The Music Department is an integral part of these productions, with many string, brass, woodwind and percussion players playing in the Pit Orchestra. Many vocal students have earned leading roles and many more sing in the cast and chorus for these productions. Some instrumental students expand their horizons and dance, and sing and act as well.
In all instrumental music courses, students learn music theory, music history, listening, dictation, ear training and the performance of repertoire, studies, chamber music, technique and solos. There is opportunity to compose and arrange music, attend performances throughout the city as field trips and plan and perform in your own solo recital as a senior student.
Brass woodwind and percussion instruments are taught in Instrumental Band classes, grades 7-12. All students are placed in a large performing ensemble:
Junior Band plays repertoire at the 200-300 level
Intermediate Concert Band plays repertoire at the 300-400 level
Wind Symphony plays repertoire at the 500-600 level
All students are placed in an ensemble according to their playing and reading ability,
regardless of age or grade. All bands participate in Music Festivals such as: the Ontario Band Association Concert Band Festival, the Kiwanis Music Festival, and the TCDSB Music Festival.
Awards Our ensembles participate yearly in OBA Concert Band Festival and the Kiwanis Music Festival. The band department received over 15 first place awards in the Kiwanis Music Festival from 1992- 2005. Here are some of the other awards they've received more recently:
2006 Gold Award Woodwind Section of Excellence Award
2007 Gold Award Brass Section of Excellence Award
2008 Gold Award Woodwind Section of Excellence Award
2009 Gold Award Brass & Percussion Sections of Excellence Awards
2010 Gold Award Woodwind Section of Excellence Award
2011 Gold Award Brass & Woodwind Sections of Excellence Awards
2012 Gold Award Woodwind Section of Excellence Award
2013 Gold Award Woodwind Section of Excellence Award, Overall Excellent Ensemble Award
2014 Gold Award Brass Section of Excellence Award
2015 Gold Award Woodwind Section of Excellence Award, Overall Excellent Ensemble Award
2016 Gold Award Woodwind Section of Excellence Award, Overall Excellent Ensemble Award, Kiwanis-Jazz Band 1st Place Provincial Final, 1st Place Challenge Class Provincial Finals, 1st Place
2017 Gold Award Woodwind Section of Excellence Award, Overall Excellent Ensemble Award, Kiwanis-Jazz Band 1st Place Provincial Final, Two 1st Place Challenge Class Provincial Finals
Jazz Program Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts has two extra curricular Jazz groups: a Big Band (Jazz Band),that plays jazz, big band swing, Latin fusion and improvised pieces, and Jazz Combo a smaller group that workshops its own arrangements and is highly improvisatory. In the spring of 2017, the Jazz Band worked with world reknowned conductor and adjudicator, Dr. Dale Lonis.
Band Tours The Wind Symphony has traveled nationally and internationally to perform and has received the following awards:
2006 Ottawa ON MusicFest National Finals Gold award
2007 Montréal QB Rhythms International Festival Superior (1st Place)
2008 New York NY Heritage Music Festival Gold Award & Best Ensemble
2010 Chicago IL Heritage Music Festival Gold Award & Best Ensemble
2012 Cleveland OH
2014 New York NY Carnegie Hall Festival
2016 Washington DC Rhythms International Festival Superior (1st Place)