In conjunction with the celebratory feelings that December and this time of year bring, The Toronto Institute For the Enjoyment of Music turns four years young on December 12, 2013, yet another reason to raise high the glasses.
TIFEM was born from an idea; to bring a positive and life enhancing experience to music and music education, for all ages and levels of experience.
Raised by the loving care of a dedicated and creative team, and nurtured by the community- friends and families who have a place to hang out, have a cup of tea, get inspired and work at their craft.
Since the Enjoyment began, we have had quite a diverse selection of students. Coming not just from Queen West, or Toronto, Music is being Enjoyed by the likes of folks from Sweden, Ireland, even as far as Australia.
Gathering together is mainly what music was intended for. We have noticed a huge growth in our group classes lately and we’re very pleased that the group classes have become a way for people to drop-in and check out the Environment on their way to achieving their musical goals.
Seeing students achieve their musical goals is a dream come true for us. We have seen students’ first gigs, passed university and arts high school acceptance auditions, first recording projects, and of course, very first instruments.
The growing population and new addition of our TIFEM Kids class is a signal that we are sharing the gift of music with another generation of imaginative thinkers and industrious human beings. And they’re all so cute! Frequently, TIFEM Kids graduate smoothly through the program into our Private Lessons.
The TIFEM Faculty are a bunch of bright, and talented musicians with a diverse set of specialties and disciplines. We have witnessed their wonderful talents both inside and outside the halls of 821 Queen. At TIFEM it’s always been a top priority to develop a friendly and creatively sound environment, and of course, that begins with the staff, and their passion not only for music, but for people.
It’s not only the lessons that make the experience at TIFEM so memorable.
Our lucky eyes and ears have seen numerous great performers play in the TIFEM Environment. Remember when there was a small city gathered outside the school for Dan Mangan’s epic performance? The place was so packed and the windows were as foggy as London.
Mother Mother, Hannah Georgas, Jazz hero Mats Gustafsson, and IRL guitar hero Gord Grdina
have all played in the Environment, showing us, up close, the result of hard work, love and determination.
A number of the performers who have visited us have also offered educational workshops to compliment their performances. In some cases, there’s no better way to engage an artist and become familiar with the artistic process than at workshops much like the ones we offer. We have been fortunate to host workshops on everything from Jazz improvisation to composition for film and television, and of course many different workshops involving musical software and various forms of music related technology.
It’s not just the well known performers that deserve a chance to have their musical say. For the adults, TIFEM holds a monthly Open Mic series that continues to pack the house and showcase everything from experimental noise to singer songwriters. We’d like to think and we’ve been told that we provide that next step; a low pressure, supportive place to share music, and for creative people to gather and meet each other.
For the younger maestro, TIFEM organizes seasonal recitals, (Upcoming: Dec 14/Dec 15) and over the past four years so many youngsters have had the memory of performing for their first time, and made it a positive one. Some outgoing kids have also come together in the forms of rock n’ roll outfit Lucky Penny and the TIFEM Youth Band.
Many new things are in the works for TIFEM, including the development of our online Digital Library, our music publishing division, and our TIFEM Music For All Occasions. Look for developments in the New Year.
The skeletal, construction era TIFEM would definitely be proud of where the four year old TIFEM was at and where it is going.
Over the years (we can actually begin to say that now with some accuracy), we have seen amazing things happen.
The community at large, the musicians and the great students that continue to study with us year after year are a testament to the fact that we are achieving our goals, meaning that people are in fact, Enjoying Music.
Thanks again to everyone taking part in the Enjoyment. We are grateful to continue filling the community with joy through music and friendship. Here’s to many, many more years!
