Music, Commitment and Community
A St. Christopher House Century
Chapter 4 - Music, Commitment and Community
St. Christopher House music school celebrates eighty years
Since St. Christopher House’s founding in 1912, music instruction has been a defining feature of its mandate. Eighteen years would lapse between the House’s opening and the founding of the St. Christopher House music school in 1930.
During those intervening years, music was nonetheless employed as a means of community outreach. One approach used on sweltering summer evenings would see St. Chris workers encourage community members residing in the Kensington Market district out of their overcrowded, dilapidated homes to join neighbours at nearby Bellevue Square Park for a neighbourhood sing-along.
Believing formal music instruction would have a positive, lasting impact upon the community, in 1930, head worker Lally Fleming proposed the establishment of a nonprofit music school. Its mandate was simple: Lessons were open to all people, regardless of skill level, age, social standing, financial means, ethnicity or any other potential barrier.
A graduate from the Boston Conservatory School named Helen Larkin was hired as the school’s first director. In turn, Elvera Hossack was the music school’s first music “mistress”. An energetic Miss Larkin took to her new post with zeal, connecting with Earnest MacMillan, director of the Toronto Conservatory of Music.
This pairing would prove ideal: In exchange for practical experience, plus room and board, students enrolled at the Conservatory would provide lessons to the St. Christopher House participants. The first three months alone saw sixty-three students enroll. That founding year, the St. Chris Mouth Organ Band placed second in a citywide competition.
An individual who impacted on the development of the music school was program director Mary Paton Leggatt. Hired in 1950, Mrs. Leggatt held the post for nearly four decades before retiring in 1987. When she began her long association with St. Christopher House, the agency was still operating from its original location on Wales Avenue. Hired part-time by head worker, Beatrice Wilson, Mrs. Leggatt recalls receiving a starting wage of $90 per month. Like those under her employ, Mrs. Leggatt resided at 67 Wales Avenue.
With Mary Leggatt overseeing the music school, the program experienced an exciting expansion. Though piano and violin lessons were the original purview of the music school, under Mrs. Leggatt’s guidance, lessons expanded to include guitar, steel drum, recorder, folk dancing, accordion, ukulele, singing lessons and more. The current director of the music school, Sherry Squires, recalls her former supervisor as, “a very kind and generous person who created a nurturing environment and unforgettable experience for children.”
As the years passed, St. Christopher House evolved. The organization grew, moving to more appropriate facilities. The music school has come into its own, recognized and respected. Naturally, its focus has changed. Choirs have formed and disbanded. For a period, the National Ballet School taught dance here. From marching bands to jazz lessons, from youth ensembles to steel drum bands, the music school has reflected the interests of its community.
Today, an average of two-hundred and seventy-five students representative of Toronto’s ethnic diversity attend various music programs per week. The music school has a working partnership with Canadian Opera Company. The partnership allows youngsters to participate in a ten week program, learning the basics of opera production. The culmination of the after school opera program sees participants perform an opera of their creation before an audience of friends and family members. The music school also operates an instrument bank. On Wednesday evenings, the adult choir, The Toronto Song Lovers practice in the Community Hall. Unique in the city, The Toronto Song Lovers is an adult choir which is open to all who wish to join; no audition required.
After 80 years, the secret of the music schools survival (besides a constant commitment to fund raising) is maintaining bonds with the community. In addition, Century Committee would like to note the passing of House friend, Patricia Outerbridge. Beginning in the early 1950s, Pat Outerbridge developed a close working relationship with St. Christopher House and the music school. As a student studying piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music, she resided at 67 Wales Avenue,providing lessons to St. Chris participants. Later, Mrs. Outerbridge became an active volunteer, participating as a St. Christopher House board member and playing an essential role in the development of the House’s Non-Event fundraising endeavour.
Mrs. Outerbridge died suddenly 9 August, 2010 at her beloved Bruce Beach cottage. As was her request, in lieu of flowers, donations were directed to St. Christopher House music school. Thank you, Patricia Outerbridge.
The author would like to acknowledge the use of The Story of St. Christopher House, by Patricia J. O’Connor, as well as the assistance of Richard Outerbridge, son of the late Patricia Outerbridge in the writing of this article. An organizing committee consisting of volunteers, staff and board members has been formed to plan St. Chris’s centenary. The Century Committee meets every second month. Those interested in participating, passing along their ideas or sharing a memory, may contact Lidia Monaco
at 416 532-4828 (234) or lidiamo@stchrishouse.org
Ed Brown can be contacted at stchriscentury@hotmail.com
St. Christopher House would like to thank the author, Edward Brown, who is a Toronto-based writer and a volunteer member on St. Christopher House's Century Committee. He is also the author of Playing Basra.
