About Columbus Concert Band
The Columbus Concert Band performs throughout Toronto and the GTA, performing in Vaughan for the Italian National Day Celebrations at Vaughan City Hall, in Mississauga during the Italian Heritage Day hosted by MICBA and for Carassauga 2013 & 2014.
The band has also performed in Toronto at Beth David Synagogue, as well as at St. Clare of Assisi (supporting the church’s fundraising initiative for South Sudan, Africa) and St. Roch’s Parishes.
The Columbus Concert Band also does annual performances at Famee Furlane and at St. Wilfrid’s parish for their annual Christmas celebrations. Lastly, the band performs regularly at the Columbus Centre for various events and special occasions. The Columbus Concert Band is always in high demand and enjoys performing on average about 8 concerts each performance season.
We are an award-winning band, proudly placing Platinum in the 2017, 2018, and 2019 Kiwanis Festival of Toronto, and placing Second in the OMFA 2017 and 2023 Provincial Finals Recorded Competition.
Want to join us? We rehearse at Villa Colombo (40 Playfair Avenue, North York, ON) every Tuesday from 7:30-9:30pm.
Contact us for more information.
Our Leadership
Annamaria Mazzaferro
Conductor/Music Director
Annamaria is the current Conductor/Music Director of the Columbus Concert Band (CCB). She was assistant conductor of the CCB from 2015 to 2018 and has held the position of Music Director/Conductor since March of 2018 with he passing of Maestro Livio Leonardelli. Under her leadership, she has lead the CCB in two Kiwanis festivals, earning Platinum and Silver, and qualified twice in the Ontario Music Festival Association (OMFA) virtual performance competition, where the CCB earned an Honourable Mention in 2018, and this year, placed 2nd in Ontario, in the Over 19 Community Bands Division. She is also a flautist and is a member of local music groups in and around the GTA. She is a graduate of York University’s Fine Arts (Music Performance – Flute) and Faculty of Education programs and holds a Masters Degree in Education (OISE-UT).
Annamaria was a music teacher for the Scarborough Board of Education (now TDSB) and began her music education career at Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute where she taught Instrumental and Vocal music and directed the Concert Choir and Junior Band. In 1998 she became Head of Music at Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute where she enjoyed many years teaching Junior and Senior Instrumental and Vocal Music, Junior and Senior guitar and Junior and Senior Strings. She directed numerous ensembles at Churchill, most notably the Junior and Senior Concert Band, Choir and Orchestra. Her high school groups competed in Kiwanis, where they placed Gold and Silver, and performed throughout Toronto, Southern Ontario, and the United States (Chicago and twice at Walt Disney World Florida).
Annamaria’s teaching career ended in 2010 with her promotion to Vice-Principal. She has been in this role for 13 years. She is newly retired and will continue to focus on spreading the joy and love of music making in, what she hopes, is her ample spare time. She has been a life-long advocate of keeping the Arts and Music education in our public school systems for over 31 years. She will continue to champion the importance of music in our schools and communities in the many years to come.
Filomena Silva
Assistant Conductor
Filomena is the current Assistant Conductor of the Columbus Concert Band (CCB). Joining the CCB in November 2012, she began as a clarinetist under the direction of Maestro Livio Leonardelli. In 2021, she moved to her current standing of Assistant Conductor leading under and alongside Music Director and Conductor Annamaria Mazzaferro. When not conducting the CCB in various arrangements during their many performances, she remains one of the first chair clarinetists with the CCB and she greatly enjoys playing alongside her fellow band members. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Music and has a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto Ontario Institute of Studies in Education.
Filomena studied clarinet and piano with the Royal Conservatory of Music since she was 10 years old. At a young age, she started her performance career in the Banda do Sagrado Coracao de Jesus as a clarinetist where she advanced quickly to their principal clarinetist and performed in many parades, festivals, competitions, solos, albums and tours (Acores and U. S. A). In high school at Parkdale Collegiate Institute, she was principal clarinetist for the junior and senior concert bands, stage band and orchestra winning many school awards. She conducted the church choir of Santa Cruz Roman Catholic Church for several years and won awards in the Portuguese community.
Filomena's professional music education career began in 1991 with the Toronto District School Board where she was a math and music teacher and conductor of various ensembles at Westview Centennial Secondary School and North Albion Collegiate Institute. In 2001, she transitioned into being a guidance counsellor then head of department and is currently Assistant Curriculum Leader of Student Services and Co-operative Education at John Polanyi Collegiate Institute; she has been with the Toronto District School Board for 33 years.
Outside of her professional career in education, Filomena has found other ways to keep her passion for music close. In addition to joining the CCB, from 2013 to 2015, she was the Music Director and Conductor of the 892 Snowy Owl Air Cadet Squadron Brass and Reeds band where she led them in performing at many cadet events such as annual parades and competitions
Filomena’s long standing love and passion for music throughout her life continues to hold strong and she cherishes every experience she has. She continues to be an advocate for younger generations to have access to every opportunity possible to further their success in life. She will continue to be a beacon for her students and provide beautiful music to her community for years to come.
Livio Leonardelli
Founding Conductor and Music Director (2010-2018)
Livio Leonardelli was born May 2, in Spormaggiore, in the Province of Trento, Italy. In 1954, he emigrated from Italy to Canada with his family. A letter of recommendation from Monsignor Scalvini was instrumental in Livio receiving acceptance to St. Michael’s College School. His interest in music began at St. Mike’s, where he immediately joined the band and played the trumpet under the direction of Mr. John Guerriere (who later became his lifelong friend and mentor). Livio was promoted to first trumpet after completing his first year with the band.
After graduating from St. Michael’s College, he was accepted at Ryerson in the Business Administration Program, but decided, after completing his RCM exams, to forego the business program and focus entirely on his studies in music. In 1967, upon completing his degree at the Ontario College of Education, Livio was offered a teaching position with the Toronto Board of Education. After a ten-year stay as Head of the Music Department at Lakeview Secondary School, he decided to transfer to the Metropolitan Separate School Board and began teaching at Chaminade College School. During this time he obtained his Music Specialist degree and was offered the headship of the Arts Department.
While teaching at Chaminade he entered his bands in a variety of competitions, most notably the Kiwanis Music Festival. Receiving high accolades and many gold awards, Livio quickly became known as Maestro Leonardelli, a title he wears proudly today. With an incredible amount of work and passion, Maestro Leonardelli organized trips for his bands to many cities across the United States. Their success in the States drove the Maestro to go farther, taking his bands across the ocean to Europe on concert tours a total of six times, including Italy where they toured under the name of “Youth in Concert Symphonic Band”.
Livio retired from teaching in January 2001. However, eight months later, Livio accepted an opportunity to start a music program at Villanova College, where once again he led the Villanova Concert Bands to achieve gold at a variety of competitions. He planned a European trip for his students and brought back with them numerous accolades and awards. Finally, in 2009 Maestro Leonardelli “retired”. In the fall of 2010, he accepted a request from Mr. Anthony Fusco Sr. to form and conduct the Columbus Concert Band. This was an offer too illustrious to refuse, allowing Livio to keep his passion for music ignited.
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