Lippert Lane naming ceremony honours long-established East York music centre

By MATTHEW STEPHENS

After nearly 70 years of fostering musicians along their journey, the Lippert Music Centre in East York recently celebrated another noteworthy milestone, with the official unveiling of “Lippert Lane,” a newly named laneway behind the historic music school.

A community celebration was held at the 970 Pape Ave. school on Sunday, May 24, where dozens of supporters and school staff were joined by Toronto-Danforth Councillor Paula Fletcher and MPP Peter Tabuns, who underscored the school’s importance to the community.

“A family business, longstanding here in the community, so many kids from East York have come through this program,” said Fletcher during her speech at the ceremony. “Having a business of this nature: the creative industries in Toronto. So many kids have learned things and have gone on to do great things… to you and your families, thank you very much for being here and your contributions to this community.”

Fletcher told the audience that her son, who also happens to be a musician, had joined her at the laneway unveiling to show support for “a fantastic music school here in East York.”

Guests attending the lane-naming ceremony also enjoyed music, refreshments, and a rose-covered cake to culminate the celebration.

During her opening speech, Charleen Beard – Lippert Music Centre director and daughter of the school’s founder Joseph Lippert Jr. – expressed gratitude to the community for helping to honour her family’s legacy with the laneway naming.

“Thank you for the great honour of Lippert Lane. This naming would not have happened without the support of our laneway neighbours through the application process,” said Beard at the ceremony. “A huge thank you to everyone involved with Lippert’s, including the students, family and friends that we have worked with and continue to work with – some are in third generation, and we look forward to the fourth.”

Joseph Lippert Jr. opened the small, family-run music school in 1957 to nurture local musicians of all ages and abilities – not knowing that his small operation would later grow into a thriving educational hub with 30 professional music teachers and approximately 400 weekly students.

Joined by his wife Gloria, Lippert became well known in the community for his tireless dedication to educating local musicians.

“From a performing musician to teacher’s college to opening to opening a music school, Mr. Lippert was famous for having his Tupperware cup filled with coffee everywhere he went,” said Beard. “He held firm to his principles and commitment to teaching music, making the school a success.”

Unsure of where her career was going at the time, Beard joined the family business in 1980, and would later assume leadership over the school 10 years later, breathing new life into the family’s mission to deliver high-quality music education.

“I started working here in 1980 without knowing where it would lead,” said Beard. “After doing a few other jobs in addition to doing this, I learned my passion was running the music school and continuing to teach.”

In her speech, Beard reflected on an incident in 2006 where she received a call alerting her to a fire at the building, praising the support of a passerby who saved the school from a nearly catastrophic fate.

“When we had the misfortune of a fire in 2006, it was a passerby who called it in. Thank you to them for helping us save our building,” said Beard.

She also thanked her grandparents for constructing the school’s building in 1944, highlighting her family as the only people who have ever occupied the building at 970 Pape Ave.

Throughout the years, the school has cemented itself as one of the city’s longest-standing music education institutions and worked with a slew of highly skilled educators, including Juno award-winning musicians, touring artists, and musicians with Stars on Canada’s Rock of Fame.

After serving over half a century of East Toronto musicians, Lippert Music Centre adds another achievement to its history with the laneway named in its honour.

“The naming of Lippert Lane stands as a tribute not only to the Lippert family’s contribution to music education, but also to the enduring connection between the school and the East York community it has served for generations,” Beard told Beach Metro Community News.