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The Li Delun Music Foundation was established in 2002 in Toronto as a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of cultural exchange between the East and the West through musical events. Named after the renowned Chinese conductor Li Delun, who founded the first symphony orchestra in the People’s Republic of China, the foundation is now well-known in the community as a presenter of high-quality musical events such as recitals by acclaimed prizewinners, and the annual “East-Meets-West New Years Concert” at the George Weston Recital Hall. Aside from forming the Toronto Festival Orchestra, which gives talented young aspiring musicians a chance to work alongside seasoned professionals, the foundation also provides a platform for young up-and-coming soloists to play on the concert hall stage, accompanied by a professional orchestra in front of a live appreciative audience.

The Li Delun Music Foundation has also held masterclasses and workshops, led by internationally-acclaimed artists, including Lang Lang, Sa Chen, Haochen Zhang, Bruce Liu, professor Lee Kum-Sing, et cetera.

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The VOCA Chorus of Toronto, a dynamic, auditioned ensemble under the leadership of artistic director Jenny Crober, performs a broad range of repertoire in collaboration with a variety of superb guest artists. VOCA's season consists of concerts, cabarets, community performances and workshops. Our wonderful collaborative pianist is Dakota Scott-Digout. Numerous remarkable artists have joined VOCA as clinicians, including composer Ola Gjeilo, conductor Ivars Taurins and jazz vocalist Dylan Bell.

VOCA's 2024/25 season, our artistic director's 20th Anniversary, will be an exciting one. On October 27, our professional leads will be featured in a cabaret / fundraiser. On December 14, our 'Season Songs' concert will include Sarah Quartel's Iesous ahatonnia, Jenny Crober's arrangement of Joni Mitchell's River, a world premiere by Nicholas Ryan Kelly, an Ontario premiere by Matthew Emery and more, with guest artists Michael Occhipinti, jazz guitar and Jamie Drake, percussion. On May 10, we'll be performing Carl Orff's monumental Carmina Burana, featuring several brilliant instrumentalists and soloists, including our special guest, tenor Andrew Haji. VOCA rehearses Monday evenings at Eastminster United (Danforth/Chester subway).

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The Kindred Spirits Orchestra (KSO) is a critically acclaimed, award-winning, auditioned-based civic orchestra, performing at the Meridian Arts Centre (George Weston Recital Hall), and the CBC Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, as well as at the Flato Markham Theatre, and the Cornell Recital Hall. In addition to performing concerts, the KSO offers several educational, community outreach, professional development and international cultural exchange programmes. In 2021, the KSO became the first orchestra in Canada to migrate to an environmentally conscious business operations, implement a digital music library, and replace paper-based music parts with iPad Pro tablets, made available to all musicians.

The 2024/25 concert season under the direction of maestro Kristian Alexander includes Bruckner‘s Symphony No. 6, Verdi‘s Messa da Requiem, Shostakovich‘s Symphony No. 7, Debussy‘s La mer, and Scriabin‘s Poem of Ecstasy, as well as a world premiere of a Concerto for Piano Trio and String Orchestra by Gary Kulesha. Featured ensembles are the Gryphon trio, Orpheus and Resound choirs, as well as cellist Winona Zelenka, pianists Michael Berkovsky and Dmitri Levkovich, and violinist Heng-Han Hou.

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The DaCapo Chamber Choir was founded in 1998 in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario under the direction of Leonard Enns. In November 2023, the choir celebrated 25 years of “giving ideas voice.” The mission of the choir is to promote the best of contemporary choral music through public performance and recordings, including the intentional championing of music of Canadian and local composers. The choir’s national NewWorks choral competition, which held its final season last year, was critical in establishing a vibrant and vital presence for recent and emerging Canadian choral music. DaCapo will continue to profile and support Canadian composers through premieres and commissioning.

The choir has released three CDs: NewWorks (2019); the award-winning ShadowLand (winner of the 2010 ACCC’s National Choral Recording of the Year award, including the Juno-nominated Nocturne by Leonard Enns); and Still (2004).

Upcoming season:

• November 9 and 10, "Word Over All" - featuring oboist James Mason, cellist Miriam Stewart Kroeker, and a string quintet
• March 1 and 2, "Starry Night"
• May 10 and 11, "Sing Us Home" - featuring piano

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The award-winning Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto celebrates more than 50 years of enlivening Toronto’s arts landscape through energetic performances, unexpected programming and artistic collaborations that redefine choral music.

Led by Artistic Director Kathleen Allan, the Choir champions the best of choral music by commissioning and premiering works by Canadian and international composers through a self-produced concert series, guest performances, and special events.

For the 2024/25 season, the choir will be led by Conductor Emerita Lydia Adams, C.M., for the November 2 performance of “Songs of Hope and Peace” at St. George's United Church, which will feature special guest Tom Allen. Ms. Adams will also conduct “Holiday Serenade” on December 7th which will be presented at the George Weston Recital Hall, in collaboration with the Hannaford Street Silver Band and the Bach Children's Chorus.

Kathleen Allan will return to lead the Bernstein and Durufle concert on May 4 at Metropolitan United Church. To purchase tickets for the Amadeus Choir's season, and to find out more about their educational initiatives and special events, please visit our website.

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Esprit Orchestra is Canada's only full-sized, professional orchestra devoted to performing and presenting new music.

Founded in 1983 by Music Director and Conductor, Alex Pauk, Esprit’s commitment to commissioning and advancing contemporary music has set it apart as one of the few organisations of its kind on a global scale. Esprit consistently collaborates with outstanding composers and performs with first-class soloists and ensembles from Canada and abroad.

With a dynamic annual subscription concert series, this skilled orchestra presents music that is otherwise unavailable in Canada. Esprit performances are regularly recorded and many can be viewed online in full.

In the 2024/25 "Edge of Your Seat" season, Esprit will present two "prelude" concerts, followed by the first iteration of a new International New Music Festival, welcoming to Toronto such esteemed guests as: violinist Akiko Suwanai, soprano Sophia Burgos and composers Andrew Norman, Lisa Streich and Vito Žuraj. Numerous Canadian, North American and world premieres will be heard throughout the season and featured soloists include: accordionist Michael Bridge, violinist Mark Fewer, pianist Kevin Ahfat, harpsichordist Wesley Shen and harpist Erica Goodman. Concerts will be presented at Koerner Hall and Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre.

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The Hannaford Street Silver Band is Canada’s award-winning professional brass band and resident company of Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. Its mission is to honour the traditions of this art form and place it in a contemporary context with a unique, Canadian point-of-view. We actively facilitate innovative creative projects and collaborate with the best of Canada’s diverse artists.

Our 2024/25 season features brass repertoire gems, paired with new music played with the verve and virtuosity you expect from the Hannaford Band: “Brassology” on October 27 features Brandon Ridenour with guest conductor Patrick Sheridan; “A Holiday Serenade” is on Saturday, December 7 at the George Weston Recital Hall with the Amadeus Choir and Bach Children's Chorus; “War and Art ” on Sunday, March 23 features Sarah Slean, and our season concludes on Sunday, May 11 with “Beyond Brass” – a collaboration with Michael Bridge, accordion and Ed Hanely, table with guest conductor Jean-Michele Malouf.

The HSSB demonstrates its commitment to youth, outreach and education by running the Hannaford Youth Program. This vibrant program is a fantastic opportunity for brass and percussion players ages 7 to 24 to participate in.

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Cantabile Chamber Singers is a non-profit Toronto-based chamber choir, formed in 2006 by artistic director Cheryll J. Chung. We are committed to enlightening audiences and attracting a new generation of Canadians to the resonance and enrichment of choral music through a combination of informed interpretation, engaging audiences and innovative programming. We believe in engaging in cultural diversity through our programming and promoting music written by living and young composers of the present.

We have come together for several reasons: for the love of music and the joy we can bring to others through the music we make, while helping to bring awareness to causes that impact society.

Keeping with its mission and vision of community outreach and social justice issues, Cantabile is a not-for-profit organization where its members believe that music can help bring awareness to social issues such as climate and environment, discrimination and illness. We hope to enrich the lives of those to come to our concerts, and more importantly, those who benefit from them.

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Under the direction of Ron Royer, who brings years of experience as a conductor, musician, composer and music educator, the SPO has developed as a lively community orchestra and a Canadian composition incubator, while also producing live and digital chamber concerts by orchestra ensembles.

SPO is also a local resource as a co-producer of recording projects by local ensembles, artists and choirs. Orchestra Canada included SPO in its “Digital Toolkit” as an exemplar for small orchestras citing its podcast, streaming content, and recording production skills.

The SPO has been an anchor cultural organization in Scarborough for 45 years. and presents, on average, six main-series concerts, plus performing/presenting at festivals and community celebrations, plus recording, developing and presenting substantial Canadian programming, as recognized by the Canadian Music Centre in awarding SPO the 2021 John Beckwith Award,

The orchestra has a professional core augmented by highly achieving community amateur musicians. Annually, it offers a unique program for New Generation artists and composers, as well as residency programs.

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Established in 2014, The Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) offer opportunities for the discovery, creation, performance and celebration of excellence in music composition. Every two years, AMP offers four prizes: two celebrating the discovery and creation of excellent new Jewish Music; one for the creation of Canadian music; and the fourth that focuses on new works inspired by humanity’s diverse cultural heritage.

AMP is open to composers of all ages, genders, faiths and backgrounds. Full eligibility and submission guidelines are available on the AMP website. AMP also seeks to engage more composers and enrich the concert repertoire through its instrumentation cycle – 2024: Choral Music; 2026: Oratorio/Opera in Concert; and 2028: Chamber Music.

All Prize Laureates receive a prize package valued at $200,000 CAD, including a $50,000 cash award, a premiere in Montréal at the AMP Gala Concert, two subsequent international showcase concerts, and a professional recording for future commercial release. This makes AMP the largest competition of its kind in Canada and one of the most important in the world.

Upcoming Dates:

• October 15, 2023: AMP London Debut Concert at Cadogan Hall
• November 2, 2023: 2024 AMP Laureates Announcement in Montréal