The Taylor Academy | 2020-2021 Year In Review

THE TAYLOR ACADEMY 2020 - 2021 Year in Review

Letter from the Director Despite a challenging and disruptive year, the talented students of The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists continued their musical development under the guidance of our exceptional staff and faculty, learning some valuable lessons along the way.

I believe that all of us – staff, teachers and students – have emerged from the year with more resilience, more passion for our craft, and a greater appreciation for opportunities to come together to make music. The students have been remarkably adaptable and positive in their approach to learning. When the pandemic began, we thought that keeping these young artists motivated would be a challenge, but we soon learned that this was not the case. In fact, some students became even more inspired to play and share their music with others. Everyone at The Taylor Academy agrees that our students have been our motivation, and they represent a future that is brighter than ever.

The support we receive from our donor community has always been important. This year, that assistance has been even more valuable. Knowing that we have dedicated supporters eagerly awaiting a time when we can all come together to enjoy listening to our wonderful students perform gave us all the determination to persevere through a difficult time. Thank you for being there for us.

I hope this Year in Review gives you a sense of what this year has been like and that it helps to underscore the dedication of our students, staff and teachers. In many ways, even though we’ve been physically distant this year, The Taylor Academy family has grown closer.

Enjoy the summer and I hope to see you again very soon.

Sincerely,

Barry Shiffman Director, The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists

Reflections on an Unusual Year

By Sanaz Lordfard, 18, violin

My mother says I used to kick her in the womb when she played middle C on the piano. At just 40 days old, my dad occasionally placed me on the piano bench where I played the keys. When I turned five, I picked up a violin, not knowing how much being a musician would transform my life. Today, I am a passionate violinist on a mission to share my ability to make music with the world.

For the past six years, I have been lucky enough to study at The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists alongside exceptionally gifted musicians. Every Friday, I was beaming with excitement to attend my chamber coachings and observe master classes. Though I’m not a morning person, waking up at 6:30 a.m. for Academy Chamber Orchestra (ACO) rehearsals on Saturdays was not a difficult task as nothing was better than hearing the blend of our instruments—except biting through the cafe’s chewy salted chocolate chip cookies after a long day.

I would truly do anything to go back to the routine I was used to at The Taylor Academy before the pandemic.

Still, COVID-19 made me realize how precious my ability to make music is. When the whole world shut down, I was still able to pick up my instrument and make music. I even had the opportunity to play virtual concerts for the elderly to help them escape the isolation they were experiencing.

The pandemic proved how resilient The Taylor Academy community is. All the students continued their theory, music history and musicianship lessons virtually. With everybody’s collaboration, the ACO created two beautiful recordings while being completely separated in individual practice rooms. I think the most phenomenal opportunity that we experienced due to the pandemic was having world-renowned master class teachers able to connect with students from across the globe. I have always been one to look at life through rose-coloured glasses. Rather than losing hope, motivation to practice, or filling my mind with negative thoughts, I am more driven and determined than ever. Each time I pick up my violin, I am preparing for the next performance that will remind the listeners of the surreal power of a beautiful melody.

Junior Pianist Amber Chow, age 14, performing in a master class with Anya Alexeyev.

Learning Online Together The Taylor Academy is built on the idea that the best way to nurture young talent is to provide opportunities for these like-minded young people to learn, rehearse and play together, and provide them with a strong sense of community. When that could no longer happen in person, no one was sure how The Taylor Academy would function. But what emerged was a group of students more committed than ever to making music, and new opportunities to explore ways of learning and playing.

“I thought it would feel weird to learn online. Surprisingly, the transition was easy, and I ended up really liking it!” Jessica Chung, 12, violin “I was surprised by how well the faculty of The Taylor Academy put together the online learning and how well the classes have worked out. They have done a very good job keeping the classes the same as usual, just tweaked for online learning.” Rowan Sawarna-Small, 14, piano Throughout the year, all Taylor Academy students participated in regular virtual private lessons, which are fundamental to keeping the students progressing and developing. Interestingly, most faculty members were surprised at how much they could achieve in these sessions.

Travel restrictions meant that professional musicians had limited performance engagements so many more were available for online master classes, which was an unforeseen advantage for our students. Staff also had greater flexibility to add more master classes since factors like physical space and student commute times were no longer considerations.

In a typical year, students from our winds program join The Glenn Gould School’s winds master classes, since a dedicated master class program for these students is not feasible given its smaller size. However, this year provided more opportunities for virtual classes and we engaged oboist James Austin Smith, flutist Demarre McGill, and clarinettist Dominic Desautels for private classes with students.

Karim Khakimov, age 15, performing in a master class with flutist Demarre McGill.

Moving to online learning also meant The Taylor Academy was able to accept more students. Typically, the school is forced to decline many applicants since limited space means that only 100 students, both new and returning, can be accomodated each year.

Deciding to decline an applicant is becoming more and more difficult since the number and calibre of applicants are increasing all the time. Taylor Academy staff and faculty were pleased to accept a greater number of new students this year, which brought the total student body up to a record 111.

An exciting project that was created in lieu of inperson Academy Chamber Orchestra rehearsals and performances was a video project for which the ACO performed Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, D 810 (“Death and the Maiden”), Andante con moto.

The Junior Chamber Orchestra and Junior Choir met regularly throughout the year. They also created video projects as a way to keep learning and performing together.

Much of the success of The Taylor Academy is thanks to the involvement of the RCM’s Digital Learning department, which guided staff and faculty as they transitioned into the unfamiliar realm of online learning.

These digital experts helped train Taylor Academy staff and teachers and quickly worked to customize digital tools to enable successful online communication and instruction.

One of the first objectives was to find a way to centralize all communications and resources. For this, the Digital Learning team set up a platform called Moodle for The Taylor Academy. Moodle is a collection of hubs or virtual spaces for each Taylor Academy class and includes a section for the school as a whole. It is a place where teachers and students can communicate, get reminders, find resources and submit assignments.

It minimizes the need to send multiple emails and helps classroom faculty communicate directly with students. In some cases, exams can be created and administered within Moodle.

“We are so fortunate to have the expertise of the RCM’s Digital Learning department to draw upon,” says Director Barry Shiffman. These are educators and technicians who have fine-tuned digital curriculum delivery and having their guidance has been very helpful as our Taylor Academy staff and faculty learned their way around new technology.

Julia Galieva-Szokolay leading a class on Musicianship using Zoom.

Virtual Learning – Insights from Our Teachers We spoke to a few of our teachers to get a glimpse into what the 2020-21 academic year has been like for them and how they have adapted to teaching online.

The Taylor Academy: Switching to online learning comes with its own set of challenges. What has it been like teaching virtually?

James Stager, Theory: For teaching theory, the online format works very well, and in many ways, it works even better than teaching in a classroom. In an online class, sharing materials is much easier, and there are more options for visual presentation – particularly the ability to zoom in and zoom out.

Julia Galieva-Szokolay, Musicianship: It was a pleasant surprise for me to discover how well virtual teaching can work and how much flexibility it allows. The online resources are unlimited, from screen sharing to audio recordings to video clips to digital ear training tools. They proved that remote classes can be as effective as in-person instruction, not to forget that a virtual learning environment resonates well with our tech-savvy students. After several adjustments, I am delighted that students’ progress continues despite all the setbacks. For some types of learners, development is even faster than before, as they benefit from the new close-up digital angle.

Steven Leigh, Senior Voice Diction: By the time we started the current school year’s session last September, I already had half a year’s experience teaching Lyric Diction at the Canadian Opera Company online. Working through Zoom/FaceTime has intensified the specificity of my work, meaning I have been able to streamline the work and focus on specific phonological structures and processes in both singing and speech.

The Taylor Academy: Is there anything you have learned through this process from an educational or artistic perspective?

Steven Leigh: Learning can take place anywhere, and people, especially this young generation of learners, can adapt and do well even if the conditions surrounding the learning process are not ideal.

James Stager: I learned that when teaching in a Zoom classroom, it’s important to keep the personal energy at a high level to keep students engaged. You need to be just as energetic (or maybe even more energetic) online than in an in-person classroom.

Students of the Academy Chamber Orchestra performing together virtually.

Julia Galieva-Szokolay: As teachers, we try to make the learning experience the best that it can be for our students in the virtual setting. There are countless opportunities to enrich and enliven the process. The challenges I faced during the last several months propelled me towards the discovery of new ways of making classes more engaging and beneficial.

When in-person teaching resumes, I will apply the new teaching techniques as a complement to and enhancement of traditional strategies.

The Taylor Academy: Do you think this period will impact teaching and studying music in the long term?

Julia Galieva-Szokolay: The experience of teaching online has impacted the way educators think about music lessons. The flexibility which the new model provides in the digital age of learning, and the adaptability of technology, will make the virtual tools a desirable addition to regular instruction. I look forward to the possibility of combining the benefits of inperson and online teaching.

Steven Leigh: Absolutely. Students now know that they are never “alone,” i.e., without their teacher, or their support system. And we, instructors, know that we can teach certain things as effectively from home as in person.

James Stager: I think that having missed in-person music-making for so long, we are all less likely to ever take it for granted again.

The Taylor Academy: Once the pandemic is behind us, what do you think the students will have learned from this experience?

James Stager: I think students will have learned greater self-regulation and initiative. It seems to me that many students have found that they need to take ownership of their preparation and organization to a greater degree than they did in the past.

Julia Galieva-Szokolay: To be independent, organized, focused and proactive. To find joy in making music remotely. To listen to and help each other.

Steven Leigh: I think we will all learn that creating art, and the ability to create that art, is more precious than we could ever have imagined. We lost the basic artistic freedom of entering a room with another person and singing with a pianist. I am very curious to see and hear what the regaining of that freedom that we previously took for granted and did not even consider “a freedom” or “a luxury” will look and sound like.

Student Achievements Kevin Chen, 10, cello, has been busy creating videos both on his own for his YouTube channel HelloCello, a channel that presents Taylor Academy-related content, and with Charming China TV, a TV channel of FM105.9 in Toronto, that features content about traditional Chinese arts such as Shadow Puppetry, Theatre and Calligraphy.

Karim Khakimov, 15, flute, started a YouTube channel, for which he produced three virtual concerts for livestream, creating trailers for each. These recitals included other Taylor Academy students, and one recital raised money for the charity Sleeping Children Around the World. He also began a series of interviews with other musicians.

Karim, and his sister Salma Khakimov, 10, violin, hosted two virtual events with employees of the Ontario Government as part of its virtual employee engagement activities to support social connectivity and mental well-being. During these events, Salma and Karim talked to the audiences about classical music and how it has helped during the pandemic, facilitated classical music quizzes, and performed live for participants.

Since last April Ellamay Mantie, 17, cello, has been learning (or relearning) an etude a week from the High School of Cello Playing by David Popper (aka Popper Etudes). She recently completed all 40 etudes and has been uploading them to her YouTube channel. Ellamay also recorded a solo video for the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra’s Great Music Performance Series.

Emrik Revermann, 12, violin, participated in the prestigious Menuhin Competition. It took place online this year with participant recordings premiering on YouTube.

For our history courses this year, faculty Peteris Zarins added a new research paper on black, indigenous and other people of colour (BIPOC) composers/musicians. Students chose an artist and wrote short papers on them. Rowan Sawarna-Small, 14, piano, made a project of it. His father sings with Eglinton St. George’s United Church and they have started an initiative to present music by composers of marginalized groups, starting with composer Christopher Harris, whom Rowan chose to write about. Rowan learned the music, recorded the accompaniment and created the tempo and base track for the choir to follow.

Ryan Yin, 9, cello, who also plays piano, started learning a third instrument, violin, and creating recordings for his YouTube channel.

We had many graduating students preparing for and recording auditions. Emad Zolfaghari, 16, viola, went a step further and gave a live recital on Zoom in preparation for his successful Curtis Institute of Music audition.

Faculty member and violinist Jonathan Crow created a project with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Toronto Summer Music to do a Play-A-Long to Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins. Many Taylor Academy students participated, with six earning awards including opportunities to perform with Crow at the 2021 TSM Festival.

Kevin Chen, 10, cello on Charming China TV sharing details about traditional Chinese arts.

Congratulations to our graduating class of 2021!

ENGINEERING

We wish our students success as they take the next step in their educational journey.