ToMA's 14th Anniversary

Hello everyone,

David here. I wanted speak personally to commemorate a very special date: May 15 is the 14th anniversary of Toronto Music Alliance.

We've gone through so many changes in our time. In 2011, we started out as two rooms in Glebe Road United Church, with only two teachers: me, and Ida Neufeld, who believed that we would be able to build a bigger and better music lesson community than either of us had experienced in our careers. We began with two, and have grown to over 15 faculty.

We've grown in many other ways too! We moved to a space on Eglinton East near Bayview, and stayed there until the pandemic forced us to close. For two and a half years, we kept going online while we built our dream: a permanent home here on Oakwood that is uniquely and permanently ours. (Fun fact: our school space was designed by award-winning architect Allan Stone. You may know some of his famous buildings, including Sporting Life on Yonge, Mountain Equipment Co-op on King, the Idomo Building at Downsview among others. If you noticed the last name, yes he's my father! We really have a family business, right down to the walls.)

We now host over 250 lessons each week here at the school! Our families grew along the way: my younger son was born in 2013, and Yosef and Megumi welcomed their daughter in 2020.

Our students' achievements have grown too! Our alumni can be found in many professional roles, including the associate principal bassist for the Saskatoon Symphony, editing music for Disney in Los Angeles, composing music for My Little Pony, or winning the International Young Women's Composition Competition. They have graced the halls of U of T, York, McGill, Humber College, Berklee College of Music, Eastman, Indiana, Manhattan School of Music, University of Edinburgh, and many others.

It is a dream come true to be able to come to work each day, and share something so profoundly important and beautiful with incredible people. I thank each and every person who comes in week after week, believing in what we do.

In particular, I need to thank our faculty, past and present. I am proud to have such an amazing team of brilliant musicians at my side through it all. You all inspire me to be a better teacher, performer, and person. That last point is especially true: all the teachers are some of the best colleagues and friends I have been able to get to know. It means so much to have you help drive our success over the years. (Really, everyone, if you haven't thanked your teacher recently for their wonderfulness, make sure you do that right away!)

Last but definitely not least, I have to thank one very important person who you may not see that much in the school, but has played a huge role in what it is today: my beautiful wife, Erin. She stood by my side when I decided to open up a ragtag music school while we learned the ropes of parenting a six-month old. She supported me while I worked many long days and nights while we built our community from the ground up. And as anyone who knows me can attest, her greatest quality is that she puts up with me!

Thank you for the indulgence, and I know our best years are yet to come! On behalf of my family to yours, THANK YOU!