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Browsing: Orchestral

Élisabeth Pion at Toronto Summer Music. Photo: Lucky Tang

Review | Miró Quartet & Festival Orchestra at Toronto Summer Music

By Andrea Rush on 31 July 2026 Chamber Music, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Strings, Toronto

Toronto Summer Music (TSM) has once again infused the Toronto musical scene with an electric buzz. The festival has run for two decades over three weeks on three pillars: a mainstage concert series at venues including Koerner and Walter Hall, an emerging artist fellowship academy encompassing its Chamber Music Institute and Art of Song program, and a community program oriented toward advanced adult amateur musicians. TSM Academy Fellows attend tuition-free thanks to the generosity of the festival’s fellowship donors, while community program serious amateurs also spend a week being coached at a high level under the guidance of world class…

Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival. Photo: SF/Marco Borrelli

Review | Dudamel’s Song-Inspired Mahler Resurrection at Salzburg

By Denise Wendel-Poray on 29 July 2026 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Orchestral

Each summer the Salzburg Festival begins not with opera, but with contemplation. Before the official opening—with this year’s new production of Carmen still to come—the Festival’s Ouverture spirituelle offers a series of concerts devoted to works that explore questions of faith, mortality, and transcendence. It is a tradition that reminds audiences that Salzburg has always aspired to be more than an operatic showcase. At its best, it proposes music as a form of philosophical inquiry. Few works could serve that purpose more naturally than Gustav Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony. Under Gustavo Dudamel, leading the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna Singverein, the…

L-R: Élisabeth Pion, Julien Proulx. Photo: Orchestre de la Francophonie

Orchestre de la francophonie: Empowering the Next Generation in Montreal

By Heather Weinreb on 23 July 2026 Classical Music, Montreal, Orchestral

Summer 2026 marks Julien Proulx’s first tenure as Artistic Director of Orchestre de la francophonie (OF). Founded in 2001 by Jean-Philippe Tremblay, OF brings pre-professional musicians from across the French-speaking world to Montreal for an intensive six-week orchestral training program. In addition to being the conductor for Orchestre symphonique de Drummondville, Proulx has spent previous summers coaching budding conductors at OF’S sister organization, Institut canadien d’art vocal (ICAV), an opera training program. “I love working with young musicians,” says Proulx. OF members, he notes, “play exceptionally well,” with many pursuing advanced degrees on their instrument. The conductor, then, has the…

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra's new brand identity.

Newswire | TSO Unveils a New Brand Identity

By Newswire on 16 July 2026 Classical Music, Newswire, Orchestral, Toronto

TORONTO, ON—The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) today unveiled a refreshed brand identity that reflects its evolution as one of Canada’s leading cultural institutions and its enduring role in the cultural life of Toronto. Watch the Brand Launch Short Film Coinciding with the public on-sale of tickets for the 2026/27 season on July 15, the new identity reflects an orchestra shaped by Toronto—its diversity, creativity, energy, and constant evolution. It honours the history of a 300-year-old art form while expressing the 21st-century orchestra the TSO has become. The brand refresh builds on a decade of organizational growth. Over the past several…

Toronto Symphony Orchestra Music Director Gustavo Gimeno.

Newswire | TSO Adds Four Special Performances for 2026/27

By Newswire on 16 July 2026 Classical Music, Newswire, Orchestral, Toronto

Toronto, July 13, 2026—The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO), expanding an already diverse array of evocative musical experiences curated by Music Director Gustavo Gimeno, is thrilled to announce the addition of four new Special Performances to its previously revealed 2026/27 season lineup. These standout programs span genres—from classical and jazz to film and K-pop—and rank among next season’s most anticipated events: Globally revered cellist and long-time TSO collaborator Yo-Yo Ma joins the orchestra for one unforgettable evening of music, as does six-time GRAMMY® Award–winning jazz vocalist Samara Joy. In partnership with World Wildlife Fund Canada, the acclaimed 2025 nature documentary Ocean…

Photo: Stuart Lowe

Newswire | Calgary Philharmonic Welcomes Ilan Kumaranayake Mendel as Incoming Resident Conductor

By Newswire on 14 July 2026 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Employment, Orchestral, West

The Calgary Philharmonic is pleased to announce Canadian conductor Ilan Kumaranayake Mendel will take to the podium as the Orchestra’s next Resident Conductor, beginning in the 2026/2027 Season. Mendel was selected as Resident Conductor of the Calgary Phil following a rigorous audition and interview process with applicants from across Canada. The Resident Conductor position, an endowed chair generously supported by Mary Rozsa de Coquet, provides an opportunity for early-career conductors to further develop their conducting and leadership skills. Mendel will play a key role with the Phil’s Artistic team, leading selected Education, Community, Pops, and Specials programs. Mendel’s appointment comes…

Yo-Yo Ma (left) and the NAC Orchestra (right).

Newswire | Yo-Yo Ma Returns to the NAC Orchestra

By Newswire on 7 July 2026 Classical Music, Newswire, Orchestral, Ottawa

July 7, 2026 – OTTAWA (Canada) – Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra is thrilled to announce that it will welcome back multi-Grammy Award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma to Southam Hall during the 2026–2027 season. This special, one-night-only performance on May 18, 2027, will be conducted by incoming Music Director John Storgårds and will be a highlight of his inaugural season with the Orchestra. This is Storgårds’s first-ever performance with Yo-Yo Ma, who will perform Antonín Dvořák’s evocative Cello Concerto. Yo-Yo Ma, who last appeared at the National Arts Centre in 2009, is renowned worldwide for his extraordinary technique and unparalleled artistry,…

Anna Patalong (Tosca) & Bryn Terfel (Scarpia) in City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s Tosca. Photo: Hannah Blake-Fathers

Review | No Concept Required: Bryn Terfel and Tosca in Birmingham

By Michelle Assay on 30 June 2026 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Opera, Orchestral, Vocal

All opera-goers have experienced it, and perhaps more often than we’d like: an evening in the theatre where the producer’s “concept/vision”—that most elastic synonym for ego—overwhelms the very thing we came to see and hear. We leave muttering the now familiar consolation: “At least the singing was good.” A concert or semi-staged performance can therefore feel less like a compromise than a liberation. Stripped of scenic excess, the orchestra reclaims its place at the centre of the drama, while a score as rich as Puccini’s is finally liberated to do what it has always done best. Better still, when as…

NAC Orchestra – National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Newswire | NAC Orchestra Summer Residency at Domaine Forget

By Newswire on 29 June 2026 Classical Music, Newswire, Orchestral, Ottawa

June 29, 2026 – OTTAWA (Canada) – Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra is thrilled to participate as Orchestra-in-Residence at Domaine Forget de Charlevoix in July 2026, as part of its conducting study program. The NAC Orchestra will support the mentorship and professional development of 12 emerging conductors this summer, led by Japanese-American maestro Kensho Watanabe. The first week of the 2026 program will culminate in a public performance by the NAC Orchestra on July 18, featuring cello soloist Marc Coppey. Founded in 1978 on a 100-acre historic property overlooking the St. Lawrence River, Domaine Forget de Charlevoix is a non-profit…

Photo: Curtis Perry

Newswire | Alexander Shelley and NACO Host Free Canada Day Concert

By Newswire on 18 June 2026 Classical Music, Newswire, Orchestral, Ottawa

June 18, 2026 – OTTAWA – Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra will celebrate the nation’s 159th birthday with a free, ticketed concert featuring an exciting lineup of Canadian performers. Led by NAC Orchestra Music Director Alexander Shelley with Resident Conductor Henry Kennedy, the program includes works by celebrated Canadian composers John Estacio, Kevin Lau, and the late Cris Derksen, as well as Oscar Peterson. The concert will be co-hosted by bilingual slam poet, musician, and composer Yao and Juno-nominated singer-songwriter Sarah Slean. Multi-award-winning violinist James Ehnes, a longtime friend and collaborator of the NAC Orchestra, will perform the first movement…

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