Colin Clarke leads Oscar Peterson School of Music program for youths from underserved communities

August 24, 2022

The circumstances under which Colin Clarke saw legendary pianist and composer Oscar Peterson perform for the first time is something he is not particularly proud of.

At age 16, he and a friend attended the Toronto International Jazz Festival.

“My friend was a huge jazz fan as a kid and I was just getting into it,” Clarke recounted. “We saw some awesome acts and were having a great time when he said we have to go and see Oscar Peterson. My reaction was, ‘Who the heck is he?’ My buddy was shocked by my reaction and when I told him my money had run out and I couldn’t go, he said, ‘We will find a way’.”

They snuck in without paying.

At the end of the overwhelming experience, Clarke became a fan of Peterson considered the Maharaja of the Keyboard.

“It was like if he was having a conversation with the audience and it was all an inside joke,” he said. “Just the idea of jazz and making music as a communicative art was fascinating. I was taken aback by how many times people laughed without saying a word. It was all music. It was so breathtaking for a teenager who was more into breakdancing back in those days.”

When the show concluded, Clarke’s friend took him backstage where he shook the hand of the late eight-time Grammy Award winner who released over 200 recordings.

Not paying for a ticket to meet the wizard and hear him play for the first time still bothers the music educator a bit.

However, Clarke shouldn’t worry too much.

As the first Artistic Director of the Oscar Peterson Program (OPP) at the Oscar Peterson School of Music (OPSM), he is leading a groundbreaking initiative that will offer tuition-free comprehensive musical training for young people in underserved communities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

“Colin’s tremendous passion for music education and his dedication to working with young people make him the ideal person to lead this groundbreaking initiative at the Oscar Peterson School and support our commitment to build on Oscar’s legacy of musical excellence,” said Dr. Peter Simon who is the President & Chief Executive Officer of The Royal Conservatory.

Jeremy Trupp, the Dean of the OPSM, said Clarke’s reputation preceded him.

“There wasn’t a public application process,” he said. “We spoke to a bunch of industry professionals who suggested we talk to Colin first. Representation is important, especially in a multicultural city like Toronto. Classical music does come from colonialist roots and we have to be honest about that. Looking forward and trying to make a difference, we were seeking a leader who is a good artist and has a passion for working with kids.”

Jeremy Trupp (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

The founder and Artistic Director of the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra, Clarke has guest conducted several orchestras and choirs, including collaborations with the Canadian Brass, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the United States Air Force Band of Liberty and the New Symphony Orchestra of Sofia, Bulgaria.

He is the recipient of the University of Western Ontario Clifford Evans Award for Conducting and the Ontario Band Association Lifetime Membership Award.

Clarke was at the movies late last year watching ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ when The Royal Conservatory Glenn Gould School faculty member Andrew McCandless texted him, asking if they could talk right away.

“When I was told they wanted to put together a high-calibre program that is specifically geared to underserved kids in our community and is tuition-free, I was ready to step in and lead,” the product of Kittitian immigrants said. “I hit the ground running, trying to find as many kids as possible for the program. We have been talking to school boards and other music education officials to get the word out. The program is resonating right now and I think it is going to be successful.

“If this program existed when I was 10, I would be the first applicant in because I had no idea that I was allowed be part of all the sounds I heard. It’s a paradigm-shifting thing for me. If someone who is 10 now says he or she wants to play this instrument and make great music with that ensemble, I would say let’s do this.”

Young musicians in Grade 6 through 9 are invited to apply before the September 17 deadline for the program that starts in October 22.

“We are looking at this age range because there are not a lot of community programs for youths,” said Clarke who was recognized as a Molson Great Canadian in 2017. “We have many accomplished ensembles in Toronto that do great things for exceptional kids. But, how do you become exceptional? We want something for younger kids who don’t have access to something like that. As a kid, I didn’t know that private lessons were an option. Our hope is to get as many people as we can into the program and make it the best youth orchestra we can in our area.”

The youths will receive instruction from inspiring and dynamic faculty at the OPSM located at The Royal Conservatory on Bloor St. W near St. George St. To eliminate financial barriers, the RCM will provide students with instruments to practice and use during the program.

In addition, the participants will have the opportunity to attend concerts by world-class musicians from diverse backgrounds and musical genres performing in the acclaimed Koerner Hall.

A typical week will start with an intense two-hour rehearsal on Sundays starting at noon, lessons with RCM musicians ranging between 30 minutes and an hour, 60-minute virtual music education programs with a special guest and backstage meetings with world-class musicians performing at the RCM.

The program offers two streams, Orchestra and Scholars. The Orchestra will be the flagship-performing (OPP) ensemble, providing students the opportunity to perform a wide variety of music. The Scholars Program will identify talented and committed students who will study the full RCM curriculum over several years. A choir stream will be added to the Program in September 2023.

Trupp, who earned his artist diploma in Orchestral Tuba, estimates the level of education and training the students will be exposed to costs around $10,000 annually.

“We are trying to provide them everything,” said the Glenn Gould School graduate. “They are getting weekly orchestra rehearsals, sectionals, lessons with faculty, extra buddy coaching practice sessions with mentors, access to our theory classes, online access and instruments.”

While there is a budget set aside for the program, the OPP is open to donations.

“I think the greatest benefit is to be attached with the students and give them the access they otherwise would not have in life,” said Mickey Palha, the Senior Director of Gifts & Stewardship at the RCM. “Financial and other barriers should not prevent a student from fulfilling their dream. Who knows how far one of them you help support financially through this program will end up?”

Mickey Pahla (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

When internationally renowned educational thought leader Dr. Avis Glaze learnt of the program, she immediately agreed to sponsor a student.

“I am a strong supporter of the arts in general and music education in particular,” noted Ontario’s first Student Achievement Officer. “I think our community must create other Oscar Peterson’s and we have to step forward and support this.”

Glaze has always put her money where her mouth is.

Two weeks before her wedding to retired IBM sales executive Peter Bailey, she saw award-winning violinist Andrew Forde playing at a community event and was so impressed that she asked him to perform on her big day.

Dr. Avis Glaze (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

Invited to their then Toronto home to play Josh Grobhan’s ‘You Raise Me Up’ that was selected as the wedding song, the engineering graduate and Harry Jerome Award winner wowed the couple and, on his way out, asked Glaze if she remembered him.

It so happened that Forde was the recipient a few years earlier of a Markham African Caribbean Canadian Association scholarship that she sponsored.

Last September, the RCM announced that its community school – the Royal Conservatory School – will bear the name of Peterson who died in December 2007.

“Oscar was one of most famous alumni and one of the premier jazz pianists of all-time,” Trupp said. “We are very lucky that he has a strong connection to the Conservatory in his upbringing and learning. We felt that learning classical music was extremely important in order to become a great musician. It is really great to have a connection to someone who is valued by all of us.”

Simon conceived the idea for the renaming.

Dr. Peter Simon (Photo contributed)

“I had the privilege of meeting and speaking with Oscar several times and we discussed his early training and how he developed his extraordinary command of the keyboard,” he said. “…Oscar believed that a classical grounding was essential for any musician and from this base, one could go anywhere.”

Individuals interested in learning more about the OPP can go to www.rcmusic.com/oscarpetersonprogram.