Our Story : The Hammer Band

Internationally-renowned violinist Moshe Hammer, the driving force behind The Hammer Band, recalls:

“In 2005, during Toronto’s Summer of the Gun, I imagined myself in the shoes, or -minds- of those kids whose best option ended with holding a fire arm. It became obvious that they were desperately looking to belong, longing to feel good about themselves. I knew then as I do now that introducing young people to music education develops pride in their accomplishments and sensitivity to others, and has the potential to bring troubled young people into a positive community of their peers and teachers.

By the end of that summer, The Hammer Band was born.”

The Hammer Band is a charitable organization that started with an idea, as renowned violinist’s Moshe Hammer’s response to Toronto’s tragic “summer of the gun.” Believing in the power of music and music instruction to help children of diverse backgrounds from at-risk neighbourhoods to “change their tune,” he walked into a public school in the Jane and Finch corridor during early 2007 and offered to teach there. That year saw two schools with 40 young students participating.

With the help of other professional musicians to teach the students, The Hammer Band is now in dozens of schools, having reached more then 2,000 students. The Hammer Band also teaches master classes for smaller groups of promising and talented players, who benefit from more individualized instruction, as well as on-line classes for groups of students unable to take part in our regular in-person classes during the school day.

For more details on Our Story click the school year below.

2007/2008

The Hammer Band starts the “From Violence to Violins” program in two schools, Derrydown and Braeburn, teaching 40 students on free violins. The year ends with recitals for 500 family members, neighbours and school faculty.

2008/2009

The Hammer Band’s program runs in three more schools with more than 70 children participating. Hundreds of people attended five recitals at the three schools, as well as two others in the community, where The Hammer Band musicians played their expanded repertoire.
Steve Paikin, host of TVO’s The Agenda, interviews Moshe Hammer on his show about the program.

2009/2010

The Hammer Band’s program expanded into five more schools, including a middle one, teaching 150 children;

During the season, musicians from the Rotterdam Philharmonic visited Elia Middle School and also invited some children and their parents to attend their performance at Roy Thomson Hall in downtown Toronto.
A group of children performed at a local mall for shoppers and neighbours.
An ensemble of The Hammer Band children played at a fundraiser, called “Be Dazzled” for the organization in Toronto, along with Moshe Hammer and other professional musicians. Also, all of The Hammer Band children played in various recitals at their schools for year-end events, attended by families and other members of the community.
The “Get Involved” organization made a documentary on Moshe Hammer and The Hammer Band as part of its series on inspirational people and ideas making a difference in their communities. It aired on TVO’s companion show in the fall of 2010, and online.

2010/2011

The program ran from October to late May with 250 children in 12 schools along the Jane/Finch corridor. Many of them were returning students and others were their friends and siblings who had seen them perform in past years, and joined up after this exposure. By the end of the year, all children involved in the program had attained a range of music and academic skills, both rudimentary and advanced;

A master class began in one of our middle schools for a smaller and more experienced group of young musicians;
The Hammer Band’s first All-Schools Concert took place in the cafetorium of Brookview Middle School, when more than 100 students played alongside professional musicians for hundreds of their family members, school teachers and principals and other members of the community. Performer Jackie Richardson sang with and for the children, and Mr. Hammer played for the audience as well;
In the summer of 2011, The Hammer Band’s first summer camp for a smaller group of enthusiastic students took place in downtown Toronto;
In August, 2011, the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre (MNJCC) named The Hammer Band as one of their Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World) community partners.
Media highlights during the school year were: a December, 2010, CBC-TV Toronto News story, with subsequent coverage on CBC-Radio; a Toronto Star feature article on the concert and the organization; an article on Homemakers magazine blog and an interview in three languages on Radio-Canada International, as well as coverage on a local fundraising event in a community newspaper.

2011/2012

The Hammer Band program ran in 15 schools, teaching music lessons to 300 students. Many of the students continued on from the instruction they received in previous years.

The cello was introduced to students for the first time.
‘The Hammer Band’ was featured in The Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, and Wholenote magazine, as well as making an appearance on Global TV
On April 25th, 2012 The Hammer Band’s ‘All Schools’ Concert brought over 150 students together to perform for family, friends and the community at Brookview Middle School. The event was filmed by Melissa Dozois who has created a documentary about The Hammer Band Program.
‘The Hammer Band’ was celebrated at the Business for the Arts event at Telus House in June. Students performed for representatives from major Arts and Business organizations based in Toronto.
A total of 45 students attended two summer Camps at Topcliff Public and George Webster Elementary schools. They were taught music lessons as well as participating in activities with special guests Yosvani Castaneda and Marilyn Lightstone.
The Hammer Band students performed at the Harbourfront Centre in downtown Toronto on July 29th, to enthusiastic crowds who were delighted to learn about the program and it’s goal to prevent violence through violin lessons.

2012/2013

The Hammer Band program ran in 18 schools, teaching lessons to 400 students.

On May 22nd, The Hammer Band held “Follow the Beat – Join the Band” at Integral House and raised funds to support the program. A talented group of children played to an appreciative audience in a spectacular setting.
150 of The Hammer Band kids take the stage at Koerner Hall on June 19th as the opening act for Moses Znaimer’s annual ideacity conference.
The Hammer Band is featured on etalk as TD Musicounts, a supporter of the program, visits a class at Oakdale Park Middle School.
On November 10, Moshe Hammer, the Executive and Artistic Director of The Hammer Band received the Tikun Olam Award for outstanding achievement in Education at the Starry Nights Gala held by Ve’ahavta.
Margaret Wente of the Globe & Mail lists The Hammer Band as a charity that manages, “to do a lot with very little” in an article entitled, “Eight charities that deserve your cheer”.

2013/2014

In September 2013 The Hammer Band adds another five schools to reach a total of 23 schools and over 500 students.

January of 2014 sees The Hammer Band in discussions with three schools in the Peel District School Board. Classes are scheduled to begin in February.

This includes the beginning of an on-line Summer Jam, allowing children to continue their music education during the summer months. It is an annual tradition that continues after lockdown.

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