Dixon Hall Music School

Bringing music into the lives of children from low-income families

In 1978, local residents and Dixon Hall staff started a music school to provide children positive reinforcement through music. Since its creation, the Dixon Hall Music School has provided over 3,700 children with music lessons. Many students have been prizewinners at the Kiwanis and other music festivals. The Music School is a great way for young people to develop a passion for music and a positive self-image.

Regent Park, located a block north of Dixon Hall, is a dynamic and challenged community where the mean household income is $16,500 and 75% of the children live below the poverty line.

Current enrollment at the Music School exceeds 220 students, with over 130 names on the waiting list. The cost to bring an eager child from the waiting list into the teaching studio is $650/student/year. The program provides opportunities to the children that go beyond basic lessons, opportunities that are totally affordable. They receive:

• half-hour, private lessons in up to thirteen different subject areas for as little as $3/lesson
• instruments to rent for as little as $3/ month
• free tickets to professional concerts
• performance opportunities
• inspirational instruction from committed, dedicated professional teachers
• a chance to attend a Summer Music Camp away from the inner-city environment

Only 11% of our funding for the Music School comes from government sources. 14% comes from our fees - which have to be kept low to be affordable. The rest is raised through donations and special events.

Please support the Music School. You can donate online through CanadaHelps.org. It is fast, safe and very cost-effective for our agency - and you'll receive your official income tax receipt in minutes! Just click on the logo.

Or you can download and print a donation form which can be mailed or faxed by clicking here.

PROFILE: THOMPSON EGBO-EGBO

Thompson Egbo-Egbo is a shining example of what is possible at Dixon Hall. As a resident of Regent Park, Thompson started at the Music School when he was 6 years old. To quote Thompson's own web site:

"The Nigerian born pianist started his studies at the Dixon Hall Music School (a subsidized music school in the heart of downtown Toronto). There is where he learned the basic piano skills to start what has been an incredible journey for the young man. Now only twenty years of age, he has graced the presence of figures such as Quincy Jones, H.R.H. Prince Phillip and many others."

Today Thompson's music career is on a fast track, having completed studies in jazz piano at Humber College. To hear Thompson perform an original composition, click on one of the links below: