Join us for a season of inspiration
Under the baton of our newly appointed music director, Michael Newnham, Orchestra Toronto performs a season of five symphonic concerts in the George Weston Recital Hall.
Freude! 30 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall
October 27, 2019
For our 2019 season opening concert, we are commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall with a programme of great German symphonic music, culminating with Beethoven’s iconic Ode to Joy, Symphony No. 9.
On the Programme
Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 23: Elijah Orlenko, winner of the 2019 Marta Hidy Prize for piano
Beethoven, Symphony No. 9: With the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and soloists Lesley Bouza (soprano), Andrea Ludwig (mezzo), Andrew Walker (tenor), and Bradley Christensen (baritone)
The Winters of Childhood
December 8, 2019
Our annual family-oriented holiday concert brings together many childhood experiences of winter, from Roch Carrier’s classic The Hockey Sweater, narrated by a special guest, to a medley of Hannukah favourites by Orchestra Toronto’s own Charles Heller, with a seasonal sing-along. Join us after the performance, next door, for an evening skating party.
On the Programme
Claude Debussy: Children’s Corner
Abigail Richardson-Schulte: The Hockey Sweater
Piotr Illych Tchaikovsky: Selections from “Nutcracker”
Charles Heller: Hannukah! Hannukah!
Calvin Custer: It’s Christmastime!
Seasonal singalong
Telling a Tale, with Tom Allen
February 23, 2020
Escape from the dregs of Toronto’s long winters with an afternoon of music inspired by stories. Host Tom Allen will guide us through a narrative labyrinth, woven through with an orchestral counterpoint.
On the Programme
Jean Sibelius: En Saga
Elizabeth Raum: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Antonin Dvořák: Noonday Witch
Sergei Prokofiev: Selections from Romeo and Juliet (Suites 1, 2 and 3)
Sueños Ibericos (Iberian Reveries)
April 19, 2020
Spain’s rich history and sun-drenched pueblos have inspired composers of many different nationalities. Join Orchestra Toronto and mezz0-soprano Julie Nesrallah as we share some great music inspired by Spain’s rich history and culture.
On the Programme
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio espagnol
Geoges Bizet: Selections/arias from “Carmen” (Julie Nesrallah, mezzosoprano)
Manuel de Falla: “Fire Music” from El amor brujo (Love the Magician)
Manuel de Falla: Three-cornered Hat Suite 1
Sketches of Our Ancestors
May 31, 2019
Orchestra Toronto explores symphonic variations on the rich folk and indigenous music traditions that have inspired composers.
On the Programme
Bela Bartok: Hungarian Sketches
Aram Khachaturian: Gayane Suite no. 3
An-Lun Huang: Four Ancients Scores from Dunhaug
Witold Lutosławski: Mała suita (Little suite)
George Enescu: Rumanian rhapsody no. 1, op. 11 A major