Brampton, Ontario – The Dev Bansraj Ramkissoon School of Music, familiarly known as the Saaz-O-Awaaz Academy of Indian Music, celebrated a milestone 30 years of their Annual Christmas Concert on Sunday, December 15th, 2019 at the Peel Arya Samaj in Brampton.
Over 150 students, family, friends and well-wishers were in attendance. The evening programme showcased the talents produced by the esteemed music school and also featured its founder Guruji Dev Bansraj Ramkissoon and his son Dave Bansraj Jr. on the tabla.
It was an especially joyous and memorable event with guest appearance by Councillor Jamie Coons of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation who presented Shri Dev Bansraj Ramkissoon with a sacred spiritual Eagle feather on behalf of his people marking the music teacher's lifetime accomplishment in music. Also in attendance was the revered Pt. Nandalal who is a supporter of the Music Academy.
Originally from Trinidad, Shri Bansraj founded the Music Academy in 1990 and is presently operating four branches in Toronto and surrounding areas. Over the years he has tutored over a thousand students in the areas of harmonium playing and vocal.
His son, Dev Bansraj Jr. is an accomplished tabla player who started out under his father's tutelage but who went to India to professionalize his art under the guidance of tabla maestro Rashid Mustafa Thirakwa.
Shri Dev Bansraj and his son are household names in Toronto and environs and have made a difference in the lives of many aspiring music lovers through their adept and proficient teaching methods.

Despite making up nearly 50% of the population, Greater Toronto Area immigrants only make up 6% of senior leadership positions across the public, private, and non-profit sector, according to a report recently released by the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC).
While newcomer unemployment rates are at an all-time low, too many immigrant professionals are unable to move up to executive and c-suite level positions. The lack of equal access to professional development opportunities, as well as implicit bias and discriminatory practices have been identified as key barriers contributing to this trend.
The report, Building A Corporate Ladder For All, explores key issues beyond just overall employment numbers of Canadian immigrants, or immediate outcomes like ‘getting the first job’. Through original research – including a study based on a sample of 659 executives and 69 organizations – and interviews with the GTA’s top employers – the report looks extensively at labour market advancement trends, obstacles leading to career stagnation, and critical recommendations for inclusive practices leading to improved immigrant career progression.
“There’s clearly a glass ceiling for immigrant professionals and it’s unfortunate we’re not utilizing the full skills and talent they have to offer,” said Margaret Eaton, Executive Director of TRIEC. “Newcomers offer so much to the economic success of our region and seeing a lack of diversity in leadership positions means there’s still much progress to be made.”
The report also reveals:
Private sector has the least diverse leadership: Only 5% of corporate executives in the GTA are immigrants.
Public and non-profit sectors are faring only slightly better: Only 6.6% of executives in the GTA are immigrants.
Career stagnation exists even in fields most commonly employing newcomers: Immigrants are not climbing up the ladder in financial and insurance as well as professional, scientific and technical services, where the largest concentration of immigrant professionals work.
Intersectionality of gender and race has negative impacts – especially for women: Around 4.2% of executives are racialized immigrants and 2% of executives are immigrant women of colour. Only one in 100 corporate executives (1%) is a racialized immigrant woman.
To access the full report,
visit: triec.ca/research-and-insights/immadvancement/