Although Music at the University of Toronto has a history dating back to well before its chartering in 1827, the Faculty of Music was established as an academic unit 100 years ago today. On June 25, 1918, six men, five of whom were organists, met at 11 am in a at University College classroom to try to achieve consensus on a curriculum for a new music faculty that had no students and offered no classes. Read more about the first Faculty Council meeting.
Flash forward 100 years and we are still trying to achieve consensus on curriculum, but we now have 950 students, hundreds of faculty, and dozens of renowned and innovative programs. We are international leaders in many areas of music creation, performance, education, and interdisciplinary research.
Together, we affirm the transculturally transformative power of music in human experience and the capacity of the arts to build healthier societies. As an important part of one of the world’s great universities in one of the world’s most diverse and dynamic cities, we are dedicated to preparing future generations of community-centred globally-informed cultural leaders.
Join us for our 2018-2019 100th anniversary season. We invite you to share your stories with us, as we use this occasion to tell more of them: then, now, and looking ahead to an exciting future.
Don McLean, Dean and Professor, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto