Here’s where to catch the hottest tickets of the season in one of the best cities for classical music.
From sweeping symphonies to intimate recitals (and everything in between), Toronto’s fall/winter performance season offers a wealth of shows for classical music fans.
Catch a performance from the local talent—Tafelmusik and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra are world-renowned—or snag a ticket to a global star’s world tour. Here are 30 shows we’ve got our ears set on.
Tafelmusik
Go for baroque with a stellar season of stirring symphonies and choral music. Tafelmusik orchestra launches its 46th season with an all-Mozart extravaganza at Koerner Hall (September 27–29, 2024) featuring Symphony No. 41 in C Major, “Jupiter,” among other gems. The program doubles as an introduction to Tafelmusik’s new principal guest director, violinist Rachel Podger.
Ring in the holiday season with the Bach Christmas Oratorio (November 22–24, 2024), followed by Handel’s Messiah (December 20 & 21, 2024), an annual holiday tradition in Toronto. Back this year: sing-along Messiah (December 22, 2024) for those who want to join the chorus.
The new year brings evenings of oboe (February 21–23, 2025), Polish folk-meets-Baroque (March 7–9, 2025), and finally, in an operatic tour de force, Samuel Mariño (May 23–25, 2025), a male soprano whose voice is considered exquisitely otherworldly by those in the know.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The TSO takes flight at Roy Thomson Hall with a soaring season of classical favourites and masterworks from top performers in their prime, plus the next generation of classical talent.
Former TSO music director Jukka-Pekka Saraste returns to conduct the monumental Mozart’s Requiem (October 9–12, 2024), as well as Brahms’ lush and lyrical Symphony No. 3.
The TSO’s Pops program shines with Simply The Best: A Tina Turner Tribute (October 15 & 16, 2024), featuring Tony Award-winning vocalist Adrienne Warren (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical).
Spooktacular sights and sounds are guaranteed at Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas In Concert (October 18 & 19, 2024), a film screening accompanied by the TSO performing Danny Elfman’s much-loved score.
The winter holidays bring holiday traditions like The Nutcracker (November 27–30, 2024) and Handel’s Messiah (December 17–22, 2024), featuring the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir led by its artistic director and principal conductor, Jean-Sébastien Vallée.
Ring in the Year of the Snake with a Lunar New Year program (February 8, 2025) of music and comedy, with guest conductor Naomi Woo, music director of NYO Canada and artistic partner of Orchestre Métropolitain.
Canadian Opera Company
The COC’s 2024–2025 season features dramatic sturm und drang set to the power of the human voice at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
French composer Charles Gounod’s Faust (select dates, October 11–November 2, 2024)—a lavish spectacle about an aging philosopher’s disastrous deal with the devil—kicks off the season.
Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (select dates, January 24–February 16, 2025) stars renowned Japanese soprano Eri Nakamura as Cio-Cio San, the ill-fated geisha who marries the unfaithful American naval officer, Pinkerton, portrayed by rising Australian-Chinese tenor, Kang Wang.
More tragedy is afoot in Wozzeck (April 25–May 16, 2025), a story of murder, madness and self-destruction. Austrian composer Alban Berg’s masterpiece gets an update in this immersive, interdisciplinary production by South African artist William Kentridge.
Candlelight concerts
Immerse yourself in the magic of live performances by Candlelight in some of the city’s most evocative concert venues. Best of all, there’s something for everyone.
Vibe to classical string and piano interpretations of contemporary pop music, movie soundtracks, Motown, Bollywood and more.
A Tribute to Taylor Swift (October 11, 2024) is a good way to pregame the superstar’s November concert run in Toronto.
Movie music hounds won’t want to miss The Best of Joe Hisaishi (October 27, 2024), a tribute to the legendary Japanese composer renowned for his iconic Studio Ghibli film scores.
Finally, Puccini vs Verdi (November 14, 2024) is a classical music throwdown featuring faves from the likes of Madama Butterfly, La Bohème and La Traviata and Tosca.
Royal Conservatory of Music
The Royal Conservatory of Music’s gem of a performance space at Koerner Hall hosts a dizzying array of talent spanning classical, world beat and jazz.
Portugal’s reigning fado queen, Mariza (October 26, 2024), brings her captivating stage presence and soulful voice to Toronto in a much-anticipated return to Koerner Hall.
Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason hits the stage with his sister, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason (December 11, 2024), for an evening of Mendelssohn, Fauré, Poulenc and more.
Don’t miss Canadian piano star Bruce Liu (January 19, 2025). One of the world’s most exciting young classical pianists, the Paris-born, Montreal-raised virtuoso will perform a thrilling program of works by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, and Mendelssohn.
Another can’t-miss concert is an evening with saxophonist, composer and multiple Grammy Award winner Branford Marsalis (February 8, 2025), who brings his jazz quartet to town for an evening of standards old and new.
Sinfonia Toronto
Toronto’s grassroots chamber orchestra, Sinfonia Toronto, plays at various venues across town.
Check out Chopin & Shostakovich: Slavic Gems (November 8, 2024) in historic Trinity St.-Paul’s Centre. The program explores the lesser-known oeuvre of Romantic pianist Frédéric Chopin, his Polish folk songs.
Also on deck: Armenian violin virtuoso Haik Kazazyan drops by North York’s George Weston Recital Hall to lend his talents to a performance of Schubert’s dark and moody Death And The Maiden (March 1, 2025) with the Canadian premiere of Baruch Berliner’s violin concerto “Jacob’s Dream.”
21C Music Festival
A fresh, fearless festival of classical music showcasing the next generation of artists, the 21C Music Festival (January 18–25, 2025) presents a small, artfully curated lineup.
Check out renowned pianist Michelle Cann as she performs with the Grammy Award-winning quintet Imami Winds (January 18, 2025).
The Journal of Hélène Berr (January 21–23, 2025) features excerpts from the real-life diary of a Parisian Jewish student deported to Auschwitz. It took 63 years for Hélène Berr's journal to be published in 2008.
It inspired Belgian composer Bernard Foccroulle to compose this lyrical drama for voice, piano, and string quartet, with a libretto borrowed from the journal. Mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb, pianist Rachael Kerr, and the Dior Quartet bring grace to the tragedy.
Measha Brueggergosman-Lee: Zombie Blizzard (January 24, 2025) brings to life a song cycle of seven concert arias for voice, jazz trio, and brass orchestra, based on Margaret Atwood’s 2020 book of poetry, Dearly.
Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert
What better way to kick off 2025 than with a bravura musical celebration at Roy Thomson Hall? Salute to Vienna (January 1, 2025) is a tribute to the golden age of Viennese music and dance.
A recreation of the Vienna Philharmonic’s annual Neujahrskonzert (New Year’s concert), this spectacular show celebrates the music of Johann Strauss with the Strauss Symphony and a cast of musicians, singers, ballroom and ballet dancers.
Maksim Mrvica
With his scintillating stage presence and an edgy crossover style that merges classical piano with contemporary flourishes, Maksim Mrvica (March 7, 2025) has earned a well-deserved global following. The Croatian musician and composer will perform a program of his original works at Meridian Hall, showcasing the chops honed over a two-decade-long career.
