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Isabel Bader’s parents understood the value of musical education to a child’s well-being and personal development, so they made sure that Isabel and her two siblings had access to instruments and took lessons.

Isabel’s love of music, instilled as a child, is one of the reasons the Bader family and Bader Philanthropies, Inc. are big supporters of Sistema Kingston. The intense after-school music program inspires young people through learning and performing and helps them reach their full potential as individuals, musicians, and citizens.  

Sistema Kingston Director Karma Tomm, who has been teaching music for more than 25 years, has seen the transformative power of music on children. 

“There is a lot of research that shows how playing music triggers a lot of neurological activity that supports academic performance, emotional well-being, and memory skills,” says Tomm. “So, I believe access to music learning should be universally available to all children. Unfortunately, that is not the reality that we live in today. Students from low-income households and students who face high levels of adversity experience disproportionate access barriers to musical opportunities. This is what Sistema Kingston addresses.” 

At no cost to families, students in Grades 2-7 spend up to 10 hours per week with Sistema Kingston, learning music fundamentals, singing, drumming, and playing string instruments together. The program used to conclude each year with a concert for friends and family at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, but it has switched to making online videos since COVID-19. 

“When children work very hard on something over time with their peers and then get up on stage and perform and rely on one another, they grow through that experience. Watching that growth is really magical,” says Tomm. “Parents, guardians, grandparents, aunts, and uncles see their children do something that they might never have imagined, and they start to see their child through a new lens. For many of our children, that has been a huge and positive change.” 

Tomm met Alfred Bader, Sc’45, BA’46, MSc’47, LLD’86, and Isabel Bader, LLD’07, in 2007 during a campus visit, and they bonded over their mutual understanding about the value of musical education.  

“On behalf of the teaching artists’ team and our students and our families, I just want to say thank you (to the Baders and Bader Philanthropies, Inc.) for enabling us to support some of the more vulnerable students in our community,” Tomm says. 

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