Sunnyside School of Music

Janine White holds an A.R.C.T. diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto and a Bachelor of Music Theory from Wilfrid Laurier University. Her musical background is rooted in classical training from an early age, and has guided many students successfully through RCM practical and theoretical exams in all levels. Her experience also bridges popular music styles and digital music production. She is active as a sound designer for award-winning websites and video games, and has performed and recorded regularly as keyboardist with bands of various styles including retro synth-poppers the Spoons and eclectic electric violinist Dr. Draw. She has recorded two albums with her own band, Johnny Hollow, in which she contributes as vocalist, keyboardist and composer/arranger. Janine has an ongoing love affair with late Romantic composers, is a sucker for the latest techno-gadgets, rocks out to the Beatles White Album at least once a month, and is addicted to downloading new music on iTunes. She brings all of these influences into her teaching and enjoys the challenge of helping each of her students to find their unique inspiration. She is also overly proud of her vegetable garden and crazy about cats.

At the age of four, Joanna began studying piano in her hometown Calgary, Alberta. In her early youth, Joanna was already comfortable playing in front of audiences, and her involvement in music extended to instrumental composition, singing, and songwriting.

She studied at the classical music program at the University of Calgary, and then moved to Toronto in 2000 where she earned her Bachelor of Jazz studies at Humber College.

Since graduating from Humber College, Joanna has been gigging and teaching steadily around the city.

In addition, she leads her own neo-soul band , performs with the Centaurs, a groove-based, free-improvisation band, and freelances in many jazz ensembles.

Joanna considers herself very lucky to have spent her whole life getting to know music through different genres, and feels it is her calling to share her knowledge, experiences, and love for music with students and audiences.

Teacher Apprentice Program

Each year, Sunnyside School of Music offers a Teacher Apprentice Program to an exceptional high school student who exhibits talent, enthusiasm, and a desire to pursue a musical career in performance and education. The student teacher has the full guidance of our other teachers, and is regularly supervised for evaluation and assessment. This program gives our student teacher a chance to develop their teaching skills while under the guidance of our experienced teachers. The Teacher Apprentice Program runs on Wednesday afternoons.

Hi, my name is Samuel Levy, and I am the teacher apprentice at the Sunnyside School of Music this year. I am in Grade 11 at University of Toronto Schools and I have been playing piano since I was ten years old. I have been studying piano with cindy for over four years, and this year, I passed my grade 7 piano exam with First Class Honours. Besides my classical training, I have been learning jazz and blues piano for two years, and have been writing and recording music for 4 years.

I'm very excited to be sharing my love of piano and music with new students eager to learn about classical, jazz, pop, composition, blues and more. This program will allow me to further my interest in music and musical education. I can't wait to meet you!