Weekly Programs
All programs are free and open to all! No registration required!
Drop-in Schedule - Winter 2025
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
12-1pm in AA303
This Uke’s for U-TSC
Thursday
12-1pm on Zoom
This Uke’s for U-TSC
12:10-2pm in AA303
Steel Pan
7:30-9:30pm in AA303
Brazilian Maracatu
Friday
This Uke’s for U-TSC
Wednesdays | 12:10-1:00pm | AA303
Winter In-person: Jan. 8, 15, 22, 29; Feb. 5, 12, 26; Mar. 5, 12, 26; Apr. 2
Thursdays | 12:00-1:00pm | Zoom
Winter Online: Jan. 9, 16, 23, 30; Feb. 6, 13, 27; Mar. 6, 13, 20, 27; Apr. 3
This Uke’s for U-TSC! is an interactive music-making session for ukulele players of all ages and levels of experience. We play a wide selection of musical genres (e.g.: pop, folk, rock, etc), and learn new skills and playing techniques in fun and supportive ways.
Navshimmer Kalra is a work-study student at SLS. They joined SLS in October 2022 as a ‘Research Assistant’ and later assumed the role of ‘Events and Programming Coordinator.’ They also facilitate ‘This Uke’s for UTSC’ sessions as part of SLS’s weekly programming. Navshimmer is currently pursuing a major in Neuroscience and Health Studies with a minor in Music and Culture at the University of Toronto Scarborough. They have a background in singing and performance. Having relocated from India to Canada in 2021, they are dedicated to approaching a diverse range of art-styles through SLS programming. Navshimmer has been actively involved in choirs, bands, and volunteer work with various music organizations. They also support arts programming at UTSC and maintain connections with SLS partners such as the Producer’s Circle at Hart House.
Lynn Tucker is an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream in Music at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), Department of Arts, Culture and Media (ACM). Engaging students in music and lifelong participation in the arts is at the forefront of her work at the university, with research interests in community music, avocational music-making, and leadership. Lynn is the conductor of the UTSC Concert Band and String Orchestra, and has been active in growing the UTSC Music program by founding the UTSC Jazz Band, the UTSC Flute Choir, as well as advocating for studies in Chamber Music. Lynn successfully co-founded the UTSC Music Ambassadors Program and the UTSC Alumni and Community Concert Band, further developing musical opportunities for anyone interested in performing music, regardless of career path.
Steel Pan
Thursdays | 12:10-2pm | AA303
Winter: Jan. 9, 16, 23, 30; Feb. 6, 13, 27; Mar. 6, 13, 20, 27; Apr. 3
Join us for steel pan workshops with internationally lauded artist and composer, Joy Lapps. Sessions will be held on Thursdays from 12-2pm, in the Arts and Administrative building in Room AA303. All are welcome to join, open to UTSC community and the public!
Internationally lauded artist and composer Joy Lapps activates spaces for community building and creative expression. The award-winning instrumentalist of Antiguan and Barbudan descent treats the steelpan as a tool for engagement, anchoring her artistry in a profound, community-centered musical tradition. She aims to amplify women’s contributions in every facet of her work, giving nuanced attention to women of the steelband movement.
- At her core, Joy connects to music as participatory. The Toronto native has performed alongside Stewart Goodyear, Larnell Lewis and the Toronto Mass Choir, and recorded with Gramps Morgan, whose 2022 release Positive Vibration received a GRAMMY nod. As a leader, Joy has appeared at jazz festivals across Canada including Montreal International Jazz Festival, the Victoria, Edmonton, and Halifax Jazz Festivals.Her repertoire teems with Afro-Caribbean- and Afro-Brazilian-inspired rhythmic and harmonic patterns, garlands of melody and plenty of space for spontaneity, and a fondness for hit song forms and reimagined choirs emerges frequently in her compositions.Following the release of Girl in the Yard, Joy plans to share a new research- and interview-driven multidisciplinary project she’s been developing that spotlights women’s contributions to the steelpan community. Follow Joy on social media at @JoyLappsMusic and visit her website joylapps.com.
Brazilian Maracatu
Thursdays | 7:30-9:30pm | Corner of Ellesmere and Military Trail OR AA303
Winter: Jan. 9, 16, 23, 30; Feb. 6, 13, 27; Mar. 6, 13, 20, 27; Apr. 3
Join us for weekly Brazilian Maracatu sessions, drumming and singing from Northeastern Brazil, with Juno-nominated master percussionist Aline Morales. Sessions will be held on Thursdays from 7:30pm-9:30pm, located in the Arts and Administrative building in Room AA303, see campus map (or outside at Scarborough Circle). All are welcome to join, open to UTSC community and the public!
Born and raised in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Aline Morales began her performing career as a child training in capoeira. By the time she reached her early twenties, she had performed in a number of traditional and contemporary bands including Brazil’s most well-known maracatu group, Nacao Estrela Brilhante do Recife, then led by her mentor Mestre Walter de Franca. Since her arrival in Toronto in 2003, she has been a tireless promoter of the traditional rhythms of northeastern Brazil, continuing to perform with her percussion troupe, Baque de Bamba, at countless festivals and events.
Now drawing upon a wider range of influences, Morales finds herself in a stage of musical exploration. Gone is the heavy wall of percussion, replaced instead by lush, eclectic arrangements, seamlessly blending traditional and modern instruments. At home in her new role as a solo artist, Morales “shines with mature confidence amid [producer] David Arcus’ outstanding orchestrations.” (David Dacks, the Grid). Her debut solo album ‘Flores, Tambores e Amores’ was nominated for a Juno Award, and her highly anticipated sophomore record is slated for release in spring of 2020.
In addition to her solo accomplishments, Morales was selected as part of Canada’s Global Orchestra, Kuné, in 2016, and continues to perform and record with the ensemble as vocalist and percussionist.