STOPS & SONGS- September 28th

Posted on September 12, 2025

Join the distinguished faculty of St. Michael’s Choir School for an unforgettable afternoon of music for voice and organ, featuring timeless works that echo the grandeur of our sacred space. Experience the artistry and spirit that define SMCS in a concert celebrating tradition, talent, and transcendent sound.

The recital is free; a suggested donation of $25pp can be made online at smcs.on.ca/concerts or on the afternoon of the recital.

See below for performer bios.

Dr. John Paul Farahat (SMCS 2007) serves on faculty as Organ and Piano Instructor at Saint Michael’s Choir School and is on the team of organists for Saint Michael’s Cathedral Basilica. He is Director of Music and Principal Organist of Saint Basil’s Church, the collegiate church of the University of Saint Michael’s College in the University of Toronto. He has performed throughout North America and Europe, most notably at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, Westminster Abbey, the Berliner Dom, and Trinity College Cambridge, among others. Dr. Farahat holds the Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance degree from the University of Toronto.

Philip J. Fillion is Cathedral Organist of St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica, Toronto, where he accompanies the choirs of St. Michael’s Choir School and teaches organ. He previously served at Saint Michael and All Angels, Dallas; St. Mary’s Church, Auburn, NY; the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia; and Elmhurst College, Chicago. He has premiered works by Philip Moore, Cecilia McDowall, Angela Kraft Cross, and Todd Wilson, and toured internationally with choirs. Fillion earned his master’s degree in sacred music and organ from Westminster Choir College in 2017.

Prize winning bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus (SMCS Class of 1998) is a sought-after performer in Canada and beyond. Upcoming engagements include Sarastro in The Magic Flute with Opera Atelier and Zuniga in Carmen with Opéra de Montréal. Recent highlights include appearances with Pacific Opera Victoria and concerts with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, and Les Violons du Roy. Celebrated for his interpretation of Handel’s Messiah, he has sung the work with major orchestras across North America, including the Toronto, Montreal, Seattle, and Houston symphonies, as well as under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He made his Carnegie Hall debut singing Bach’s Mass in B-minor.

Nicholas Nicolaidis is a versatile and accomplished chorister, soloist, conductor and vocal pedagogue. Born in South Africa South Africa, Nicholas began his vocal studies at the world famous Drakensberg Boy’s Choir School and completed a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, post graduate singing studies with professors from the Royal College of Music in London, England, and post graduate conducting studies at the University of Stellenbosch. He has a wide vocal repertoire, but specialises in oratorio, lieder, and the jazz standards. Nicholas has sung with the Elmer Eisler Singers, Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Toronto Consort, Soundstreams Choir 21 and is currently a professional tenor for the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Singers, The Elora Singers and is the musical director of the Trinity Bach Project. He enjoys good food, good company and enjoys playing tennis and pickleball.

David Simon (SMCS Class of 2011) is an organ recitalist, liturgical musician, and music instructor. He is the Director of Music at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Toronto and he teaches organ, piano, conducting, and music theory at St. Michael's Choir School, having grown up there as a chorister himself. He is also on the roster of organists at St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica, playing at weekly masses.

David has won first prize at competitions in various organ disciplines: in interpretation at the Royal Canadian College of Organists (RCCO) playing competition; in improvisation at the University of Michigan organ improvisation competition; and in composition in the RCCO Toronto 100th Anniversary Organ Composition Competition.

David holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale University and he is a Fellow of the RCCO.

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