The Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts Music Department is dynamic, energetic and always busy!
We are 360+ students and 7 teacher- musicians strong, with courses in Instrumental Band, Instrumental Strings and Vocal Music. 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 vocal music courses, students study theory, history, listening, dictation, ear training, sight singing/solfège and prepare for performance of choral repertoire, vocalises, and solos. There are opportunities to compose-arrange music and attend performances throughout the city. Senior students plan and perform their own solo recitals.
Every year several performance opportunities arise which range from regularly featured concert events to special community events. Students participate in the schools annual Christmas and Spring Music Concerts as well as the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, held at various churches in the Greater Toronto Area. Students performances in various community venues have included the Duruflé Requiem with the Brampton Symphony Orchestra, sacred concerts with Elmer Iseler Singers, several performances of the Missa Gaia, Music Canada participation at the CBC for nationally broadcast performances, participants in Canada Day performances with the National Arts Orchestra in Ottawa and nationally televised Parliament Hill ceremonies. In the past twenty years the choirs of Cardinal Carter have earned an enviable place of distinction in local festivals such as the Kiwanis Music Festival, Heritage Music Festival and the Ontario Vocal Festival establishing a standard of consistent excellence in performance.
CCAA has been proud to have many students continue in music excelling in opera and popular music.
Choir Tours The CCAA Choirs have traveled internationally to perform and have received Top awards with the Heritage Music Festival and the Kiwanis Music Festivals.
2004 Winnipeg Man. Concert Tour
2005 Ottawa, ON Canada Day Festival
2008 New York NY Heritage Music Festival Gold Award & Best Choir
2010 Boston MA Concert Tour
2012 New York NY St. Patrick's Cathedral Guest Choir Concert Series and NYC Tour
2014 New York and Boston St. Patrick's Cathedral Performance and Boston Carmel Concert Performance/Tour
2016 Chicago, IL Concert Tour
The Choral Program at CCAA features five performing ensembles. Students from grade 7-12 participate in one or more of these level appropriate ensembles that offer opportunity for musical, technical and social growth.
Junior Choir –is a treble ensemble comprised of students in Grades 7, 8 and 9
Intermediate Choir- is a mixed ensemble comprised of students in Grades 9, 10 and 11
Senior Choir- is a mixed ensemble comprised of the students in Grades 11 and 12, with deserving younger singers integrated into the ensemble.
Women’s Chorus – is an SSAA chorus comprised of Women’s voices
Men’s Chorus- is TTBB chorus comprised of Men’s voice
In December 2013, the Senior Choir was invited to participate in a youtube Christmas video performed by alumnus, Natalie Di Luccio. Natalie has a thriving career in India, performing concerts, singing for Bollywood movie soundtracks and singing in commercials. Here is the link to Natalie's performance of O Holy Night.
(if link above does not work, copy and paste the following link to your browser http://youtu.be/_dVBuBROMh4 )
The CCAA Senior Women's Choir performed at the OVF 2014 in February and received high praise from highly esteemed adjudicators Scott Leithead and Brenda Uchimaru.
Please click on the mp3 link below to hear a live recording from the festival!
October 2014 - New York and Boston Concert Tour
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Community Outreach - Performance at The Marleigh, Retirement Residence, Unionville, ON
May 28, 2015
CCAA Grade 11 Music Department Trip to see the Canadian Opera Company production of Carmen on May 12th, 2016
Vocal/Strings Trip to Chicago, November 1-5, 2016!
Missa Gaia: Earth Mass
Please join us on Wednesday, May 10th at Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen St. East, for our 2017 performance of Missa Gaia: Earth Mass. In this performance, you will hear the World Premiere of Paul Halley's In The Wide Awe And Wisdom Of The Night. This work was commissioned by CCAA to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the school. Tickets to this event will be sold 2 weeks prior to the performance and at the door for $15.
Missa Gaia Performance photo, May 10, 2017
Audition Information for 2018 Academic Year
