Music & Arts School

University Settlement’s Music & Arts School offers affordable, quality programs for music and dance. Everyone is welcome – kids, teens, adults, and seniors. Our faculty is dedicated to nurturing talent and a love of music in a safe and fun environment that celebrates success.

Affordable, Quality Programs for Music and Dance

For Kids, Teens, Adults, and Seniors

Everyone is Welcome

Regardless of where you live in Toronto, your income or your age, everyone is welcome at the Music & Arts School.

Affordable Fees and Subsidies

Our fees are below for-profit sector rates. We also provide subsidies and, when possible, access to musical instruments for low-income students.

High Calibre Faculty

Our faculty is dedicated to nurturing talent and a love of music in a safe and fun environment that celebrates success.

We have always believed that the arts should be a right, not a privilege; lessons should be available to everyone regardless of age, ethnicity, perceived talent, disability, or ability to pay.

Music & Arts School is grateful for the support of

Lily’s Story —“…taking piano at the Music & Arts School has brought out my passion for piano and without it I would not be the pianist and musician I am today…”

Lily Yan MacDonald is a talented multi-instrumentalist and dedicated student at the Music & Arts School and an invaluable member of the Music & Arts School’s Youth Chamber Ensemble. Over the past four years, she has studied piano and violin, impressing her piano teacher, Miguel Brito-Lopez, with her progress from Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) level 5 to level 10.

Lily’s musical achievements include receiving the Laraine Herzog Scholarship and the Marshal Adam Golden Music Award at University Settlement. Outside of University Settlement, she has excelled in piano performances at the YIP’s Music Festival, earning first place in the Piano Level 10 List E class. Lily’s high school string ensemble won a silver award at the National Music Fest competition in Canada.

However, music is not her sole passion. Lily also excels in sports, particularly field hockey, and she has a remarkable talent for mathematics.

Beyond her musical achievements, Lily is a dedicated volunteer at University Settlement’s Music & Arts School, and generously contributes her time to assist ballet classes on Sunday afternoons.

Lily’s first ballet class was at University Settlement when she was just four years old. With over seven years of ballet experience, she finds joy in using her skills to benefit the children, reflecting on her own journey and relishing the role reversal.

Lily acknowledges the pivotal role that University Settlement’s Music & Arts School has played in nurturing her passion for piano. Her gratitude for the opportunities provided by the Music & Arts School shines through in her words and actions. Lily’s journey is truly an inspiration, demonstrating not only her remarkable musical talent but also her dedication to giving back and her well-rounded excellence in various areas of her life.

“I think taking piano at the Music & Arts School has brought out my passion for piano and without it I would not be the pianist and musician I am today.”

– Lily

Help Us Make A Difference

When you give to University Settlement, you make it possible for young students, like Lily, to pursue their artistic talents at the Music & Arts School.

Make a donation. Make a difference.