26th ANNUAL DIRECTORY OF MUSIC MAKERS

Welcome to The WholeNote’s 26th annual Blue Pages directory of our region’s music makers. We hope you’ll enjoy perusing the profiles that follow, submitted both by presenters who are forging ahead with plans for 2025-26, or whose detailed plans are still uncertain.

Thanks to all those who have once again opted in with a WholeNote membership and profile: for your faith in and support for what we do.

And thanks to you, our readers - in print, and online at kiosk.thewholenote.com.

Profiles will be kept up-to-date online here, as new ones arrive or more information is available.

For information on the benefits of a WholeNote membership (of which a Blue Pages profile is a feature), please contact Ori Dagan at advertising@thewholenote.com or 416-323-2232 x26.


canary sitelinkVlad Bortnowski
416-839-2058
vbortnowski@gmail.com
www.torontobeachchorale.com

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Toronto Beach Chorale 2023An auditioned concert choir, Toronto Beach Chorale attracts singers who are highly motivated with excellent musical skills. We offer three choral concerts each season, performed with professional soloists and instrumental ensembles.

In addition to our concert season, which this year includes music by Handel, Bach and Haydn, we actively participate in community events, collaborating with other groups and artists to enhance the quality of life in our neighbourhood and the City. Toronto Beach Chorale is a vital musical presence in the Beach, and has achieved a reputation for artistic excellence.

We are supported by professional orchestras and ensembles, and we engage professional and emerging soloists in principal solo roles.

Our Artistic Director, Mervin W Fick, has been transforming choirs, inspiring individuals and raising performance levels of choirs for over 35 years. He is the founding director of the Toronto Beach Chorale, Artistic Director of the MCS Chorus of Mississauga, and conductor of the PCS Singers of Brampton and the National Award-winning Esprit Chamber Choir. One of the greatest gifts that Mervin brings to performances through the singers under his direction is his ability to inspire truly joyful singing.

 

canary sitelinkMary Thomas Nagel
416-903-8054
www.torontochamberchoir.ca

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Toronto Chamber ChoirThe Toronto Chamber Choir has held a prominent place enriching Canada’s early music scene since 1968. Since 2014, the TCC’s Artistic Director is lutenist Lucas Harris. Past directors have included David Fallis and Mark Vuorinen.

The TCC’s 30 to 40 auditioned singers specialise in Renaissance and Baroque repertoire in collaboration with period instrumentalists, though its themed concerts (four per season) often include music from other time periods and diverse cultures. Our performances often explore the cultural context of our repertoire using narration and a multimedia component. Since 2014, we’ve run the Toronto Chamber Consort section lead program for professional singers with a special interest in early music, and since 2003, we’ve run an apprenticeship program with Rosedale Heights School for the Arts.

Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings at Church of the Transfiguration (Mt. Pleasant/Davisville). The TCC is committed to inclusion and diversity of perspectives within the choir. We welcome audition requests from singers with excellent choral skills at any time through arrangement with the Artistic Director.

canary sitelinkDominic Ebona
416-932-8666
info@torontochildrenschorus.com
www.torontochildrenschorus.com

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Toronto Children's ChorusThe Toronto Children's Chorus (TCC) is a vibrant musical community that has been nurturing young voices for generations. The Chorus is led by internationally acclaimed Artistic Director Dr. Zimfira Poloz (2022-present), who follows in the esteemed footsteps of Founder and Artistic Director Jean Ashworth Bartle C.M., O.Ont., and Artistic Director Elise Bradley, MNZM. The TCC is proud to have been a cornerstone of choral excellence in Toronto and Canada for 47+ years.

The TCC consists of 8 choirs for ages 6-18 that provide exceptional music, vocal, and performance training. TCC presents a concert series each season and regularly collaborates with the Toronto Symphony and other Toronto performing arts organisations.

canary sitelinkDebby Blyth
416-499-3000
info@torontochoralsociety.org
www.torontochoralsociety.org

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The Toronto Choral Society has been an important part of our city’s musical history since first established in 1845! We provide a positive musical environment that enables members to learn and develop both musical ability and choral repertoire. Under the guidelines of our renowned conductor Geoff Butler, you will receive expert choral instruction.

This 2025/26 season, we will be performing four concerts beginning with “The Lark Still Bravely Sings”, a Remembrance Day Concert, honouring Canadian veterans and those who served in the armed forces. Our Christmas concert at Koerner Hall is Handel’s Messiah, a Christmas classic. In March, we will be with the Scarborough Philharmonic orchestra, again a unique experience.

The final concert of the season will be “Both Sides Now”, with folk and rock music from the 1960s; a great evening.

We rehearse on Wednesday nights at Eastminster Church, 310 Danforth Ave (Chester Subway).

canary sitelinkAnne Molloy
647-960-2405
info@torontoclassicalsingers.ca
www.torontoclassicalsingers.ca

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Toronto Classical SingersToronto Classical Singers uphold the highest standards in performing works from the past 300 years. Now in our 35th season, we continue to delight Toronto audiences with the best of this wonderful musical heritage – and we always welcome new members!

Our choir is highly regarded for its commitment to professionalism and for a repertoire spanning the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods. Under the baton of John Holland, our new Artistic Director, the choir continues its long-standing partnership with the Toronto Classical Players, an accomplished orchestra that accompanies the choir's performances.

For our 2025-26 season, we are pleased to present two concerts. On December 7, 2025, we will perform Magnificats by three different composers: JS Bach, CPE Bach, and Zelenka. For our April 19, 2026, concert, we present Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, and Dvorák’s Mass in D and Psalm 149.

Our Western choral tradition has brought great beauty into this world for centuries. That has never been more important, and the Toronto Classical Singers are dedicated to ensuring that this vital, inspiring tradition endures and thrives.

If this is your kind of music, then come sing with us!

canary sitelinkDevon Klaas
416-598-0422
marketing@tmchoir.org
www.tmchoir.org

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Toronto Mendelssohn ChoirThe Juno Award-winning and Grammy-nominated Toronto Mendelssohn Choir (TMChoir) is one of Canada’s oldest, largest, and most celebrated choral ensembles. Founded in 1894 as part of Massey Hall’s inaugural season, TMChoir has led Canadian choral music for over a century, commissioning works by leading composers and performing with the world’s top orchestras. Led by Artistic Director Jean-Sébastien Vallée, the Choir honours its legacy while reimagining the future of choral performance.

This past season, TMChoir released Remember: 130 Years of Choral Music, available for streaming everywhere. The 2025/26 season features Brahms’ German Requiem with Russell Braun and Charlotte Siegel; three premieres by composer-in-residence Stephanie Martin, including The Treasures at the beloved Festival of Carols; Bach’s monumental St. Matthew Passion; and Eric Whitacre’s The Sacred Veil, presented with Metropolitan United Church for Cancer Awareness Month. TMChoir also joins the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for Carmina Burana, Messiah, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and travels to Ottawa to perform Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony with the National Arts Centre Orchestra under Alexander Shelley.

canary sitelinkGuillermo Silva-Marin
416-366-7723
admin@torontooperetta.com
www.torontooperetta.com

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Toronto Operetta TheatreToronto Operetta Theatre has been Canada's sole dedicated music theatre company for over 40 years.

TOT will return to the St. Lawrence Centre stage for the 2025/26 season, presenting a distinguished repertoire of music, comedy, and romance from Operetta and Music Theatre. The season will commence with “The Mikado - Revisited” by Gilbert & Sullivan, featuring a new setting in England, with performances scheduled for October 24, 25, and 26, 2025. To celebrate the holiday season, TOT will present Imre Kalman’s Czardas Princess, beginning December 30, 2025, with additional shows on January 2, 3, and 4, 2026, under the direction of Derek Bate. The season will conclude with Johann Strauss’s A Night in Venice, offered on April 17, 18, and 19, 2026. All principal performances will take place at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

Our patrons’ favourite, TOT’s Cabaret series at the intimate Edward Jackman Centre, will be held on Saturday, October 4, 2025, November 29, 2025, and March 7, 2026, starting at 4pm.

canary sitelinkMavigail Sergio
416-598-3375
contactus@tso.ca
www.tso.ca

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Toronto Symphony OrchestraFounded in 1922, the TSO performs at Roy Thomson Hall and is known for artistic excellence, versatility, and global reach through touring, recordings, and broadcasts. This 2025/26 season, Music Director Gustavo Gimeno leads the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with bold vision and vibrant artistry. The season opens with Carmina Burana and closes with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Highlights include Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Mahler’s Ninth, five more Beethoven symphonies, and new works by Joe Hisaishi, Jessie Montgomery, Cris Derksen, and Wynton Marsalis. Hear soloists like Joshua Bell, Bruce Liu, and María Dueñas at Roy Thomson Hall and the expanded North York series at Meridian Arts Centre.

The TSO serves its community through wide-ranging education programs, including School Concerts for 40,000+ students and the tuition-free Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. Additionally, the TSO supports the development of next-generation artists through its annual open call for Canadian orchestral scores, and its essential Resident Conductor and Affiliate Composer positions.

canary sitelinkChris Friesen
306-250-4256
trinitybachproject@gmail.com
www.trinitybachproject.org

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Trinity Bach ProjectTrinity Bach Project is a professional vocal and instrumental ensemble that inspires new audiences with the extraordinary musical and spiritual riches of J. S. Bach’s choral repertoire. By bringing to life the underperformed cantatas of Bach with clarity, excellence, and generosity, we remove barriers around classical choral music and open the doors of sacred places—both historic architecture and human hearts.The 44 concerts of our first three seasons included such programs as “Bach & Mendelssohn,” “Bach and Schütz,” “Bach & Tallis,” “Bach & Roses,” and “Bach & Honour,” shared with diverse audiences in 18 different church settings around Toronto and the surrounding region. Season four is set to debut in October 2025 with “Bach and the Earth,” featuring the vivacious cantatas BWV 187 (Es wartet alles auf dich) and BWV 76 (Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes), while January to June will see, “Bach & Anguish” (BWV 12 and 127), “Bach & Rising (BWV 67 and 95), and “Bach & Wings” (BWV 137 and 43).

canary sitelinkLaurie Evan Fraser
416-256-3809
lef@uppercanadachoristers.org
www.uppercanadachoristers.org

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The Upper Canada Choristers is an SATB community choir in Toronto with a history of collaboration with both local and international choirs and professional guest artists. UCC is committed to excellence and diversity. Cantemos is UCC’s auditioned Latin American ensemble. Founding Artistic Director, Laurie Evan Fraser and Accompanist, Hye Won Cecilia Lee provide the professional musical leadership for this vibrant organization.

The 2025/26 concert season opens with “This Little Child on Friday”, December 5 at 7:30pm at Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Road. The concert will feature The Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten with harpist, Liane James.
On May 8, 2026, the Choristers will present “Songs of Love and Understanding”, with music by Richard Rogers and Lerner and Loewe. We will also premiere a new work: Searching for Love and Understanding, an Empathetic Tapestry, with music by Laurie Evan Fraser and texts by Jacqui Atkin and Jacinto Salcedo.

canary sitelinkNykola Parzei
416-246-9880
nykola@vesnivka.com
www.vesnivka.com

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Vesnivka ChoirVesnivka Choir, established in 1965 by founding artistic director Halyna Kvitka Kondracki, has delighted audiences around the world with its rich repertoire of Ukrainian liturgical, classical, contemporary and traditional folk music. Vesnivka, together with its partner, the Toronto Ukrainian Male Chamber Choir (TUMCC) (also founded by Kondracki and singing under the umbrella of Vesnivka Choir), are often accompanied by professional soloists and chamber ensembles of area musicians. Under the leadership of co-conductors, Kondracki and Nazar Lozynskyy, the 2025/26 season will include its annual Ukrainian Christmas concert on January 11, 2026, a celebration of Vesnivka’s 60th anniversary with a concert on March 29, 2026, and “Chernobyl 40”, a joint concert with Canadian Bandurist Capella commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster, to be held April 26, 2026. Vesnivka also sings at Christmas and Easter Liturgies. New singers for both choirs are welcome throughout the year. If interested, please contact us via the website. Regular rehearsals are held Tuesday evenings at the Ukrainian National Federation building, 145 Evans Avenue, Toronto, from 7pm to 9pm.

canary sitelinkVictoria Shalygin
416-788-8482
admin@vivayouthsingers.com

www.vivasingerstoronto.com

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VIVA Singers TorontoVIVA Singers Toronto is a family of seven choirs with a mandate to give members, ages four through adult, the opportunity to achieve artistic excellence in a singer-centred, collaborative choral community.

VIVA offers diverse musical programming, including regular performance and international touring opportunities, musical literacy, chorister composition and Orff-based creation activities, an annual fall Performing Arts Camp and commissioned works and partnerships with distinguished musicians and composers.

VIVA’s dedicated efforts to put choristers first inform our rehearsal structures and music-making processes. We embrace the coexistence of a high level of artistic and educational engagement while fostering a truly inclusive environment.

We continue to advocate for all voices, and push for inclusivity to ensure that anyone who enjoys music is welcomed - and challenged - at VIVA.

canary sitelinkJenny Crober
416-931-8224
crober.best@gmail.com
www.vocachorus.ca

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VOCA Chorus of TorontoThe VOCA Chorus of Toronto, a dynamic, auditioned ensemble led by artistic director Jenny Crober, performs a wide range of repertoire in collaboration with a variety of superb guests. Our brilliant collaborative pianist is Dakota Scott-Digout. VOCA’s season consists of concerts, cabaret/fundraisers, community performances and workshops. Several remarkable artists have joined us as clinicians, including composer Ola Gjeilo, conductor Ivars Taurins and jazz musician Dylan Bell.

VOCA's exciting 2025/26 season will open with a concert with the Sinfonía por el Perú Youth Choir on October 8, conducted and featuring selections by Cree composers Andrew Balfour and Sherryl Sewepagaham. VOCA’s professional leads will present a cabaret/fundraiser on October 28. Our seasonal concert on December 20 at Eglinton St. George’s will include world premieres by two of Canada’s most renowned composers, Sarah Quartel and Mark Sirett, with cellist Sybil Shanahan, organist Shawn Grenke and percussionist Jamie Drake. Our Spring 2026 Cabaret will be held on February 28, and our May 2 concert will feature guitarist Jason Fowler and a string quartet, with works by Ola Gjeilo and others. We rehearse on Mondays at Riverdale Presbyterian (Danforth/Pape subway).

canary sitelinkGuillermo Silva-Marin
416-408-0208
admin@operainconcert.com

www.operainconcert.com

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VOICEBOX: Opera in ConcertVOICEBOX: Opera in Concert is Canada’s only company dedicated exclusively to the presentation of rare opera programming for over 50 years. Our performances rely on the power and beauty of the human voice, the dramatic inflection of text and poetry, accompanied by orchestra or piano.

Our performances will continue at our new venue, Jeanne Lamon Hall at Trinity St. Paul Centre, as we present three operas under the theme "Taking Ownership of Opera Rarities in Performance." The 2025/26 season will commence with Grétry’s Richard Coeur-de-Lion on Saturday, November 15, 2025. This will be followed by Bellini’s La Sonnambula on Saturday, February 14, 2026, and conclude with Kurt Weill’s Lost in the Stars on Saturday, March 21, 2026.

The OIC Chorus, under the direction of Robert Cooper and our Music Directors, will be featured in each production.

canary sitelinkShannon Perreault
416-923-7052
wmct@wmct.on.ca
www.wmct.on.ca

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Women's Musical Club of Toronto (WMCT)For more than 125 years, Women’s Musical Club of Toronto (WMCT)’s concerts have been a testament to Toronto’s enduring appreciation of top-quality chamber music. They have also been a tribute to our founders’ determination to perform and participate in the musical life of the city despite historical social barriers. Today, WMCT’s Music in the Afternoon concert series can be enjoyed by anyone who loves great small-ensemble music.

Music in the Afternoon features musicians on the threshold of international recognition, as well as established artists and ensembles. Concerts are presented Thursday afternoons at 1:30pm at Walter Hall, University of Toronto, Faculty of Music. Illuminating pre-concert lectures at 12:15pm are free to all concert attendees.

For the exciting 128th season (2025/26) we present Karoline Podolak, soprano, and Rachael Kerr, piano (October 9, 2025); Maxwell Quartet (November 13, 2025); VC2 Cello Duo with Amy Hillis, violin (March 5, 2026); Stéphane Tétreault, cello, with Denis Plante, bandoneon, and Chloé Dumoulin, piano (April 2, 2026); Fierbois: Caitlin Broms-Jacobs, oboe, and Madeline Hildebrand, piano (May 7, 2026).

Visit our website for regular season news and updates.

canary sitelinkRoy Greaves
905-468-7486
wychwoodclarinetchoir@yahoo.ca
www.wychwoodclarinetchoir.com

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Wychwood Clarinet ChoirThe Wychwood Clarinet Choir brings together the family of clarinets from the E-flat sopranino down to the contrabass. Our range of instruments is matched by the variety of our repertoire. We perform new compositions and arrangements, many written or transcribed by our Composers’ Collective. The choir, now in its 17th season, is directed by clarinetist and conductor Michele Jacot. Choir members are admitted by audition and pay an annual membership fee. Members are dedicated clarinetists eager to share their love of music-making in a collegial and musically challenging environment. We strive to create opportunities for serious amateur musicians to develop their musical skills and to share our music more broadly in educational settings and in the wider community. The group rehearses and performs on a regular basis in Toronto’s St. Clair and Wychwood area. Check out our YouTube videos and look for updates on our website. New members welcome - please contact us for audition information.

canary sitelinkWilliam Maddox
(416) 922-1167
wcmaddox@yorkminsterpark.com
www.yorkminsterpark.com

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Yorkminster Park Baptist ChurchYorkminster Park is synonymous with magnificent music. Whether it’s the choir accompanied by the majestic Casavant organ, our Memorial Carillon (one of 12 in Canada), or the congregation lifting their voices in hymns of praise, vocal and instrumental expressions of faith are integral in the Yorkminster Park experience.

Our choir, under organist and music director William Maddox and his assistant, Sharon Beckstead, enjoys a reputation as one of the best church choirs in Toronto. We present a series of free organ recitals at 12:30pm, every Wednesday from September through June, featuring performers from around the world.

We have a wide variety of unique musical events throughout the year, but Yorkminster Park is renowned for its special seasonal concerts. The quality of the music ministry at YPBC is never more evident than during Advent and Holy Week. These services have become community traditions: City Carol Sing, Carols by Candlelight, Iona liturgical music, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Passiontide Devotion during Holy Week and Evensong services three times a year.

Our sanctuary is frequently made available to other choral and concert groups, which draw appreciative audiences from all over Southern Ontario.

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