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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T103000
DTSTAMP:20260813T023229
CREATED:20250817T205045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250826T160648Z
UID:10000061-1759827600-1759833000@promiseofmusic.com
SUMMARY:Music Education – Transforming Children’s Lives
DESCRIPTION:Across the planet\, social initiatives rooted in the teaching of music have shown the powerful impact that this form of creative expression\, collective engagement and personal development can have on the lives and futures of children and youth. The programs presented in this panel hail from diverse cultural and social environments\, and address different needs and challenges among the students they serve. Despite these differences\, our speakers will draw upon their lived experience\, and that of their students\, to identify the common threads that make their work successful\, impactful and life-changing\, with lessons that can benefit children and communities everywhere.
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/music-education-transforming-childrens-lives/
LOCATION:The Creative School Chrysalis\, 43 Gerrard St E\, Toronto\, ON\, M5G 2A7\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Forum
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://promiseofmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Music-Education-Transforming-Childrens-Lives.jpg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T115000
DTSTAMP:20260813T023229
CREATED:20250817T205045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250826T212229Z
UID:10000074-1759833000-1759837800@promiseofmusic.com
SUMMARY:Tuesday Film Screening: The Soloist
DESCRIPTION:Inspired by the book\, The Soloist: A Lost Dream\, an Unlikely Friendship\, and The Redemptive Power of Music\, this 2009 film tells the true story of Nathaniel Ayers\, a Juilliard-trained former musical prodigy whose schizophrenia has landed him on the streets of Los Angeles. The Soloist stars Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel Ayers and Robert Downey Jr. as Steve Lopez\, a journalist who befriends Ayers after hearing him play on Skid Row. As Lopez learns more about Ayers and a once promising career derailed by mental illness\, he determines to help undo the tragedy of a talent so remarkable relegated to the streets As Lopez embarks on a quixotic quest to help Ayers pull his life together and launch a career in music\, he gradually comes to realize that it is not Ayers whose life is being transformed\, but his own. Powerfully and poignantly\, the Soloist captures the lifeline that music – and friendship – can provide\, even in the face of inner pain and turmoil. \n“Music remains the only medicine he willingly takes. Absorbed in Beethoven\, Bach or Brahms\, he is momentarily healed and temporarily freed from his demons. Sometimes\, as he’s lifted by a musical swell\, his eyes fill. I always wonder if it’s the beauty that tugs at him or if it’s thoughts of what might have been if schizophrenia hadn’t stolen his dream.”\n– Steve Lopez \nHear Steve Lopez talk about his friend\, Nathaniel Ayers\, here.
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/tuesday-film-screening-the-soloist/
LOCATION:Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema\, 506 Bloor St W\, Toronto\, ON\, M5S 1Y3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Film Screening
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://promiseofmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Soloist2009_18.png
GEO:43.6655516;-79.4104688
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T104500
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T114500
DTSTAMP:20260813T023229
CREATED:20250817T205045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250825T173621Z
UID:10000059-1759833900-1759837500@promiseofmusic.com
SUMMARY:Music and Social Prescribing – Holistic Health and Wellness
DESCRIPTION:In an era of constrained resources and an over-taxed health care system\, we can and must find better and more cost-effective ways to enhance health and wellness across the population by addressing the social determinants of health: the conditions in which people are born\, grow\, live\, work and age. \nHealth is affected by numerous social factors that arise long before the need for physicians and hospitals becomes acute: loneliness\, nutrition\, emotional and home support\, education\, one’s physical environment\, availability of cultural and social engagement\, to name a few. Addressing these needs in a way that can save health care dollars\, relieve stresses on the medical system and produce better health outcomes is the essence of the movement called Social Prescribing. Social prescribing holistically unites clinical and social care by referring patients to local\, non-clinical services that are chosen according to the client’s interests\, goals\, and gifts. \nOur panelists draw upon a wealth of real-world experience to discuss the powerful role that learning music and access to musical culture can play as a social prescribing aid to the wellness of our children.
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/music-and-social-prescribing-holistic-health-and-wellness/
LOCATION:The Creative School Chrysalis\, 43 Gerrard St E\, Toronto\, ON\, M5G 2A7\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Forum
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://promiseofmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Music-and-Social-Prescribing-–-Holistic-Health-and-Wellness-1.png
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T124500
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T134500
DTSTAMP:20260813T023229
CREATED:20250817T205045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250823T140848Z
UID:10000062-1759841100-1759844700@promiseofmusic.com
SUMMARY:Music in Exile: the Struggle to Preserve Culture
DESCRIPTION:Dr. Ahmad Sarmast is the visionary Founder and Director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM)\, established in Kabul after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. ANIM was created as a modern\, inclusive conservatory\, welcoming children in need\, and open to girls\, who had long been banned from access to education. ANIM sought to rescue and revive Afghanistan’s rich\, musical heritage which was nearly eradicated under Taliban rule. \nSarmast’s mission came at great personal risk. Despite death threats and a targeted suicide bombing that left him with grave injuries\, Sarmast persisted and ANIM flourished\, until the sudden return of the Taliban in 2021. \nHe refused to be deterred. After several months in hiding\, and in an extraordinary act of defiance and hope\, the students and teachers escaped and re-established the school in Portugal – reborn as a “conservatory in exile.” \nDr. Sarmast vividly recounts and speaks with raw emotion about the harrowing experience\, the ache of separation from home and the enduring strength his students and faculty find in music. Through it all\, he continues to champion music as not only an art form\, but a basic human right.
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/music-in-exile-the-struggle-to-preserve-culture/
LOCATION:The Creative School Chrysalis\, 43 Gerrard St E\, Toronto\, ON\, M5G 2A7\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Forum
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://promiseofmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Music-in-Exile.png
GEO:43.6593;-79.3799
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T151500
DTSTAMP:20260813T023229
CREATED:20250817T205045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251006T145720Z
UID:10000060-1759845600-1759850100@promiseofmusic.com
SUMMARY:Music Education – Preserving Culture\, Preventing Erasure
DESCRIPTION:Music is a connecting thread that runs through cultures\, extending from the very origins of identity to today’s contemporary expressions. The central role of music makes it an essential part of who people are and how they understand themselves\, from cultural celebrations and sacred observances\, the telling of folk stories and foundational myths\, sustaining family memories\, and the voicing of hopes and concerns of the present-day. \nYet\, with the passage of time and changes in society or the uprooting of families and populations through traumatic events of displacement\, war and natural disaster\, people can become separated from themselves and their roots\, becoming strangers in strange lands\, or even alienated from their culture while still living in their homelands. \nHear our panelists discuss the vital part music and music education plays in preserving and recovering cultural traditions\, in regaining a sense of rootedness\, and even finding a fresh sense of identity and kinship as they reconcile themselves to their new homes.
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/music-education-preserving-culture-preventing-erasure/
LOCATION:The Creative School Chrysalis\, 43 Gerrard St E\, Toronto\, ON\, M5G 2A7\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Forum
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://promiseofmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Music-Education-Preserving-Culture-1.jpg
GEO:43.6593;-79.3799
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T170000
DTSTAMP:20260813T023229
CREATED:20250817T205045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250829T140813Z
UID:10000058-1759851000-1759856400@promiseofmusic.com
SUMMARY:Glenn Gould’s Variations and the Human Qualities that Foster Remarkable Human Creativity
DESCRIPTION:Joshua Cohen is a professor of philosophy\, and has taught at MIT\, Stanford and the University of California\, Berkeley\, before joining the faculty of Apple University\, established by Steve Jobs in 2008. Jobs’ goal was to infuse Apple’s employees with a more holistic and creative vision of the company’s mission and values. \nAs part of his three-part series\, “Best Things\,” Prof. Cohen developed this presentation about Glenn Gould and his re-imagining in 1981 of his groundbreaking 1955 hit recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Created for Apple\, and rarely seen outside of Apple University\, Dr. Cohen presents revelatory insights not only about a landmark recording\, but about the richness of ideas that went into its creation. \nThrough this presentation\, illustrated with numerous video clips and penetrating analysis\, Prof. Cohen reveals Gould’s insights about the rich inner workings of a musical masterpiece\, but also his ideas about the ethical dimensions of technology\, and their implications for society and the future of humanity. \nFor those whose lives are touched daily by technology (all of us!)\, and for whom music is essential\, this talk will be a provocative\, stimulating and attitude-changing experience.
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/glenn-goulds-variations-and-the-human-qualities-that-foster-remarkable-human-creativity/
LOCATION:The Creative School Chrysalis\, 43 Gerrard St E\, Toronto\, ON\, M5G 2A7\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Forum
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T180000
DTSTAMP:20260813T023229
CREATED:20250817T205045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251007T163246Z
UID:10000052-1759856400-1759860000@promiseofmusic.com
SUMMARY:In Conversation with Chilly Gonzales: Live from Paris
DESCRIPTION:With Special Guest\, Devo Brown\nJoin legendary Grammy-winning Canadian pianist\, composer\, producer\, entertainer and iconoclast Chilly Gonzales for an intimate live virtual conversation\, beamed to you live from Paris.\n \nKnown for his virtuosic piano work\, collaborations with global icons\, and genre-defying approach to music\, Chilly Gonzales will share insights into his extraordinary life in music\, his belief in the importance of rap as the lingua franca of our times\, and one of the world’s most original music education institutions\, his “Gonzervatory.”\n \nThe Gonzervatory is a red-hot crucible that brings together small groups of musicians from diverse backgrounds and cultures around the world every year for an intensive learning experience which fuses them into a musical performing ensemble and creative collective.\n \nLearn about ingenious Gonzervatory concepts like “Musical Push-Ups\,” “Songing” and “Collabulary.”\n \nWith a musical maverick like Chilly Gonzales holding court\, you may never experience music in the same way again. Audience members will also have the unique opportunity to ask questions in real time. \nSupported by John M. Beck
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/chilly-gonzalez/
LOCATION:Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema\, 506 Bloor St W\, Toronto\, ON\, M5S 1Y3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Public Performance
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://promiseofmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2023_PERSO_GONZO_Victor-Picon-52439_COLOR-IA-SQUARE.png
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T203000
DTSTAMP:20260813T023229
CREATED:20250817T205105Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250903T130934Z
UID:10000070-1759865400-1759869000@promiseofmusic.com
SUMMARY:The Recycled Orchestra – From Landfill to Legends
DESCRIPTION:It’s an evening of pure joy\, and a story that has caught the world’s imagination. The Recycled Orchestra features gifted young musicians performing timeless music on instruments made entirely of recycled trash. Formed in the impoverished Paraguayan town of Cateura in 2007\, the Recycled Orchestra is the fruit of a program designed to provide young people orchestral training\, and the rich life skills that come with it\, all fueled by the joy of music. \nDubbed “the Landfill Harmonic\,” the ensemble’s instruments are amazing re-inventions\, created using materials salvaged from their town’s one industry\, an enormous landfill. Cellos are fashioned from oil drums\, saxophones made from drainpipes\, drumheads from old X-films. The Recycled Orchestra is transformation incarnate\, both turning garbage into an orchestra and lives of hopelessness into ones of inspiration and purpose. The ensemble has toured the world\, even performing with Metallica and Stevie Wonder\, and the subject of a new musical debuting next year\, Basura\, by Gloria Estefan.
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/the-recycled-orchestra-from-landfill-to-legends/
LOCATION:Nanji Family Foundation Auditorium at the Aga Khan Museum\, 77 Wynford Drive\, Toronto\, ON\, M3C 1K1\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Public Performance
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://promiseofmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/The-Recycled-Orchestra-of-Cateura-02.png
GEO:43.7252855;-79.3320349
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Nanji Family Foundation Auditorium at the Aga Khan Museum 77 Wynford Drive Toronto ON M3C 1K1 Canada;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=77 Wynford Drive:geo:-79.3320349,43.7252855
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T210000
DTSTAMP:20260813T023229
CREATED:20250817T205105Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250830T130756Z
UID:10000047-1759867200-1759870800@promiseofmusic.com
SUMMARY:Afghanistan National Institute of Music: The Inextinguishable Flame
DESCRIPTION:Soon after the Taliban’s initial withdrawal in 2001\, Dr. Ahmad Sarmast founded the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) in Kabul\, and against all odds\, a global phenomenon was born. Tirelessly working to reverse years of Taliban efforts to eradicate a glorious centuries-old musical culture\, Sarmast and his unrelenting teachers created a school offering lessons to disadvantaged children including orphans and girls. Not even a suicide bomber during a student concert\, in which Sarmast was seriously wounded\, or the Taliban’s decree banning music entirely and forbidding expression by women\, could silence ANIM\, now continuing its mission from exile in Portugal. Their world tours have included sold out shows at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall.
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/afghanistan-national-institute-of-music-the-inextinguishable-flame/
LOCATION:The Creative School Chrysalis\, 43 Gerrard St E\, Toronto\, ON\, M5G 2A7\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Public Performance
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://promiseofmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/ANIM.png
GEO:43.6593;-79.3799
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=The Creative School Chrysalis 43 Gerrard St E Toronto ON M5G 2A7 Canada;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=43 Gerrard St E:geo:-79.3799,43.6593
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T210000
DTSTAMP:20260813T023229
CREATED:20250817T205105Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251003T142005Z
UID:10000057-1759867200-1759870800@promiseofmusic.com
SUMMARY:Firdaus Orchestra: Symphonic Traditions From the East and West
DESCRIPTION:Experience the trailblazing Firdaus Orchestra\, an all-female ensemble whose name means “paradise” in Arabic and whose spirit embodies empowerment and unity. Comprised of exceptional musicians from nearly 30 countries\, Firdaus share their talents while inspiring young women to unlock their potential\, express themselves freely and pursue careers in music without limits. \nFounded for Expo 2020 Dubai by Her Excellency\, Reem Al Hashimy\, Minister of State for International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates\, the Firdaus Orchestra has grown into a powerful symbol of cultural exchange and gender inclusion. Performing as a 50-member ensemble that blends Western symphonic traditions with traditional Arabic instruments and musical heritage\, they offer an exceptional repertoire that spans continents and centuries. It is the vanguard of a UAE-wide music education initiative. \nSupported by Harps on the Hill
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/firdaus-orchestra-symphonic-traditions-from-the-east-and-west/
LOCATION:Koerner Hall\, 273 Bloor St W\, Toronto\, ON\, M5S 1V6\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Public Performance
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GEO:43.6679988;-79.3965985
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END:VEVENT
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