Cathy Mitro Wins Innovation of the Year Award

Humber’s Innovation of the Year Award recognizes employees who have designed and implemented significant innovations that positively impact the education of students at Humber College. As anybody who has ever worked with her can attest, Cathy Mitro and her Community Music program certainly qualify!

Cathy first started working on the program when she was still Humber music student herself, back in 1980. The idea was to create a gateway to senior music programs in colleges and universities across the country. Since then, the program has grown from a few classes for elementary-age kids to a full slate of offerings for students from preschool through to senior high school. Around 150 students enroll each semester and perform at various events including The Rex Hotel, MusicFest Nationals and the Beaches Jazz Festival.

Now 35 years old, the program has spawned a generation and a half of some of the best musicians in Canada, not only many who have gone on to study music at Humber, but many who have made a name for themselves nationally and even internationally. The community music program has collected over 200 gold awards at MusicFest Nationals, graduates have garnered over $2.5 million in post-secondary scholarship offers from across North America and Cathy herself was inducted into the MusicFest Hall of Fame in 2010.

Congratulations to Cathy on this latest award and to all her students on their many successes!

To find out more about the program and enroll in classes, check out our current offerings.