New Gift Will Support Technology and Innovation in Music

A major gift from alum Murray R. Metcalfe (BASc 1977) has established the Metcalfe Family Decanal Chair in Music, creating a permanent source of support for future deans of U of T’s Faculty of Music.

Matched by the university to create an endowment, the chair will give faculty leaders added flexibility to pursue emerging opportunities in the field of music broadly. The support is intended to help the faculty respond to changing priorities and invest in initiatives that strengthen student learning, artistic innovation and research.

Ryan McClelland, dean of the Faculty of Music, and the inaugural Metcalfe Family Decanal Chair in Music, says one of the most significant changes affecting music education today is – not surprisingly – the growing role of technology. About a decade ago, the faculty launched a master’s degree in music technology and digital media and will introduce an under­graduate stream in the field in 2027.

Increasingly, students are creating works in which sound and image are developed together. As a result, McClelland observes, students require access to specialized equipment, software and creative spaces where they can record and edit multimedia projects. The faculty is continually updating teaching and performance venues to support works that combine music with video and live electronic elements, he says.

The faculty is also seeing students apply music in a greater variety of contexts. Through the master’s program in applied music and health, for example, students work with clients in community and clinical settings, including in neurorehabilitation, palliative care and autism.

Delivering world-class education across a wide range of musical fields requires investment in both infrastructure and people, McClelland notes. The new chair will help ensure that the faculty can continue to attract outstanding artists, teachers and scholars from around the world. “It’s important that we have the resources, the facilities and the research support to attract these outstanding individuals,” he says.

Founded more than a century ago, the Faculty of Music is one of Canada’s leading institutions for musical training, scholarship and creative practice. Its graduates include internationally recognized performers, composers, educators and arts leaders, while its faculty members are advancing research across many musical disciplines.

Metcalfe, who earned his degree in engineering before building a career in venture capital and private equity, has been active with the Faculty of Music’s advisory council. He has described the gift as a way of bringing together two longstanding interests: the university and music. “Over the last several years, I have enjoyed engaging at the faculty and with the many exceptionally talented members of the community,” he says. “There is so much potential ahead.”