On a late March evening, the Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra (EPO) filled the hall of the Martingrove Collegiate Institute with the sweeping works of Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The program, titled Dramatic Metamorphosis and conducted by Matthew Jones, also featured celebrated double-bassist Joel Quarrington.
Among the professional musicians sat two Humber students — one of them a cellist — quietly holding their own.
Nieva Cunningham, from British Columbia, is in her third year of a Bachelor of Music at Humber. She is the only string instrument player in a program focused on jazz and contemporary music.
Being the only string player in a jazz program has its challenges. “It’s definitely pushing me to learn lots of stuff,” she said.
The EPO has no formal affiliation with Humber Polytechnic. She found the opportunity herself.
Her path to the EPO winds through two distinct musical worlds. Cunningham began classically, studying cello through high school before completing a two-year contemporary music program in British Columbia. At Humber, surrounded by jazz, she found herself moving further from the classical side of her instrument. The orchestra brought her back.
“It’s nice to get back into it and kind of have the full education since classical is more for technique,” she said. “Jazz is a bit more free and like studying the improvisation side of the instrument.”
Playing her first concert surrounded by professionals was, by her own description, a revelation.
“It was really cool to just sit and listen and be like, wow, just making that kind of music with everyone is a cool experience,” she said.
The learning extended beyond the repertoire. Sitting in a section alongside experienced cellists opened up a quieter kind of mentorship. “It’s nice to sit in a section of other cellists and be able to get help with bowing,” she said.
The title of the EPO’s concert — Dramatic Metamorphosis — could describe more than just the evening’s repertoire. For students willing to step outside the classroom and into professional spaces, the transformation is gradual and lasting. The line between student and professional, as Cunningham is discovering, does not vanish in a single concert.
Matt Brubeck, professor of music at Humber and Cunningham’s teacher, said the value of orchestral training goes well beyond the notes on the page. “Orchestral training is really very important because the amount of attention that goes into intonation and phrasing — and of course, unique to strings, is coordinating with bowing,” he said.
It is a discipline that classical settings demand in a way jazz does not, and students feel the difference. “I’m a lot more in the music itself, where I have to stay focused,” Cunningham said. “You can’t really sit back and enjoy it so much. It’s more, stay on track.”
Brubeck agreed.
“In a classical musical rehearsal, I’ve never seen anyone with a phone on their music stand,” he said. “You’re just completely focused on the task at hand.”
That sustained focus, he said, has a ripple effect. The more time a student spends in an orchestral environment, the more their instincts develop — in ways that go beyond what a classroom can teach. The hours spent reading and responding to an ensemble quietly hone skills such as music arranging, Brubeck said. “If you spend time with the orchestra, you begin to get a sense of how to go about doing that,” he said.
The benefits reach beyond the music stand. Playing with professionals teaches students what a working career in music actually looks and feels like. “Professionalism is built over time,” Brubeck said. “As I always tell my students, work leads to work. Show up on time, be ready to play, know your part, and you will get other work.”
Brubeck pointed to something harder to teach than technique when explaining the drive a musician has to bring the same commitment to a community orchestra as to a major stage. “I would hope that most people who love music and love performing will put the same amount of pride and energy into doing something, whether they’re compensated or not,” he said. “It’s professional pride. You can’t phone it in.”
For Cunningham, that commitment comes at a cost. Balancing EPO rehearsals with the demands of her third-year coursework and recital season has been taxing. “It’s too much of everything right now,” she admitted.
But she wasn’t complaining.
“At least it’s fun. I enjoy everything that I’m doing. So that’s what matters,” Cunningham said.
Brubeck, who has seen students overextend themselves, offered a word of caution alongside his encouragement. Students should absolutely seek out professional environments, he said — as long as they don’t get overcommitted.
“Everything you do takes time,” he said.
