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L-R: Pablo Ferrández by Kristian Schuller; Quatuor Danel by Marco Borggreve; Dinuk Wijeratne

Newswire | Music Toronto Announces Its 2026–27 Season

By Newswire on 24 April 2026 Classical Music, Contemporary, Newswire, Toronto

TORONTO, ON — (April 24, 2026) — Music Toronto is proud to announce its 2026–27 season, a vibrant and wide-ranging series that brings together many of today’s leading international and Canadian artists while deepening the organization’s commitment to artistic excellence, discovery, and community connection. On October 8, the season opens with internationally acclaimed cellist Pablo Ferrández, hailed by some as “the next Yo-Yo Ma,” making his Canadian solo recital debut. The program celebrates the 150th anniversary of Pablo Casals’ birth, honouring the legendary artist whose legacy reshaped the voice of the cello through works by Bach, Britten, and Cassadó. Throughout…

Madeline Cooper (Ciboletta) & Marcus Tranquilli (Pappacoda) in Toronto Operetta Theatre's A Night in Venice. Photo: Gary Beechey (BDS Studios)

Review | Comic Carnevale in Toronto Operetta Theatre’s A Night in Venice

By Gianmarco Segato on 21 April 2026 Concert Reviews, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

Toronto Operetta Theatre closed their season with Johann Strauss’s 1883 operetta A Night in Venice. Set in Venice during carnival season, it revolves around plot devices that might be considered questionable today. These include a nobleman’s ‘right’ to deflower young women, and what must have been some hilarious cross-dressing at the time…all handled with taste and not too much unnecessary fanfare here. A young cast seized their roles for all they were worth, resulting in a fun afternoon (seen Apr. 19) of light entertainment—not a small thing given the current state of the world. As with many operettas, the story…

Alan Menken. Photo: Jag Gundu/Roy Thomson Hall

Review | Alan Menken: Stories from the King of Disney Music

By Amanda Wong on 21 April 2026 Concert Reviews, Movie soundtrack music, Piano, Toronto, Vocal

For those like me who grew up obsessing over Disney movies and music, A Whole New World of Alan Menken—the show written and performed by the composer himself—was the perfect homage to an illustrious legacy that is still constantly growing with new additions to his repertoire. Throughout the impressive two-and-a-half-hour-long (and decade-old) show, Menken took us on a magic carpet ride through a mostly chronological retelling of his career, chock full of personal anecdotes and fun behind-the-scenes facts from his works (seen at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall on Apr. 17). The show, with additional materials by Jennifer Lucy Cook and…

Philippe Sly (Arkel) with artists of Atelier Ballet in Opera Atelier's Pelléas et Mélisande. Photo: Bruce Zinger

Review | Drama Shines Through Baroque Intrusions in Opera Atelier’s Pelléas et Mélisande

By Gianmarco Segato on 20 April 2026 Concert Reviews, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

It’s no secret that Opera Atelier has wanted to present Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande for many decades, and finally, the results were unveiled last week at Toronto’s Koerner Hall to close the company’s spring season (seen Apr. 18). A “period” Pelléas is an intriguing prospect and in many ways, this was one of the group’s more memorable productions in recent seasons. Extremely strong casting and high musical values proved that Opera Atelier really should be producing operas outside their usual baroque/classical wheelhouse on a more regular basis. The inclusion of some of the company’s more typical “period” elements, however, threatened…

Photo: Jag Gundu

Anoushka Shankar: The Next Chapter

By Kaitlyn Chan on 15 April 2026 Interviews, Orchestral, Strings, Toronto

“The sitar was an important part of my life before I even played it because it was so key in my family,” says sitarist and composer Anoushka Shankar. Shankar’s father, sitar virtuoso and composer Pandit Ravi Shankar, played a pivotal role in bringing the world’s attention to Hindustani classical music. He was also A. Shankar’s first sitar teacher. Growing up, Shankar was surrounded by a variety of artistic influences. Her parents, who were from different areas of India, both passed down a love for the music and dance styles from their regions. “I listened to a mix of Hindustani, Carnatic…

Choral Calendar (April 2026)

By Marie-Claire Fafard-Blais on 4 April 2026 Choral, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto

Montréal GERMAN WALTZES AND LATIN PSALMS April 11 at 7:30 p.m. – Maison symphonique For the 10th edition of Opus concerts, Chœur Métropolitain presents Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and Brahms’s Liebeslieder-Walzer and Neue Liebeslieder. Pianists Pierre McLean and Louise Pelletier will accompany the choir. www.orchestremetropolitain.com ARCHES: ARMENIA April 26 at 4 p.m. ; May 1, 2 and 9 at 7 p.m. – Various venues in Montreal Vocal ensemble Les Rugissants continues its Arches series exploring the history, music and architecture of important communities in Montreal. This series of concerts looks at the culture of Armenia with choral works by Sharafyan, Mansourian…

Sabina Sandvoss (cello) and Davin Mar (viola), winners of the 2026 Michael Measures Prize. Photos: courtesy of NYO Canada.

Newswire | Sabina Sandvoss and Davin Mar win Measures Prize

By Newswire on 3 April 2026 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Newswire, Toronto

TORONTO, ONTARIO – March 30, 2026 – The National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada) is thrilled to announce the winners of the prestigious 2026 Canada Council for the Arts Michael Measures Prizes. Awarded to only two recipients each year, these prizes recognize and support the finest young classical musicians in Canada aged 16 to 24, celebrating their extraordinary artistry and dedication. Together, their awards mark two historic firsts: Sabina Sandvoss is the first female cellist to win First Prize, and Davin Mar the first violist to receive the honour. 2026 Canada Council for the Arts Michael Measures Prize Winners:…

Winona Zelenka and Marie Bérard. Photo: Chung Ling Lo

Arkel Chamber Concerts: A Program Engineered Around Enescu

By Adrian Rodriguez on 3 April 2026 Chamber Music, Classical Music, Toronto

“I wore myself out trying to work a piece of music divided into four segments of such length that each of them was likely at any moment to break.” When George Enescu described his Octet in C major, Op. 7 in these terms, he framed it less as a chamber work than as an engineering feat. On May 31, Arkel Chamber Concerts places this challenge at the centre of its program, Grand Romance, at Toronto’s Trinity St. Paul’s Centre, taking on a work that demands both precision and collective imagination. For 13 years, the Toronto-based series has built its identity…

Left to right: Anoushka Shankar. Photo: Jag Gundu; Earl Lee. Photo: Lim Hak Hyun; Karen Cargill. Photo: Nadine Boyd

Upcoming Concerts

By La Scena Musicale Team on 3 April 2026 Classical Music, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto

Toronto Koerner Hall Georgian-born violinist Lisa Batiashvili appears in recital on April 26 with pianist and countryman Giorgi Gigashvili, presenting works by Beethoven, Franck and Bartók as well as a new piece by Ioseb Bardanashvili. On May 1, Korean-Canadian cellist and conductor Earl Lee, music director of the Ann Arbor Symphony, leads the Royal Conservatory Orchestra. The ensemble of students from the undergraduate and graduate programs of The Glenn Gould School play Samy Moussa’s Elysium, Mahler’s “Titan” symphony and are joined by violinist Sabina Sandvoss, winner of The Robert W. and G. Ann Corcoran Concerto Competition, for Bloch’s Schelomo. Two…

Photo: Fay Fox

Russell Thomas: Taking the Werther Challenge

By Catherine Kustanczy on 3 April 2026 Interviews, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

Russell Thomas is many singers at once—and he aims to excel at them all. The Miami-born tenor, celebrated for his interpretations of Italian repertoire and, more recently, German works, is preparing to make his role debut in Toronto this spring as Werther in Jules Massenet’s popular opera of the same name, with the Canadian Opera Company (COC). Hailing the French opera’s “immense emotional impact,” Thomas says the work is a supreme marriage of music and text. “From the very beginning, when Werther walks in and sees the house and looks at the children playing, a whole world is being painted,…

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