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Cantemus Singers was established in 2008 by our conductor, Michael Erdman, to help expand Toronto’s exposure to and appreciation of Renaissance and early Baroque secular vocal music. Our 14-voice a cappella ensemble focuses mainly on the interesting and evocative madrigals, lieder, chansons and villancicos of the 16th century. We also perform religious works, often the five- to eight-part compositions less often heard by Toronto audiences.

Our 2019/20 season begins Nov 23 and 24, as we perform Christmas music from England, including Thomas Tallis’ magnificent Mass Puer natus est nobis for 7 voices. In mid-March, “Good Queen Bess” explores the music of the Elizabethan period, featuring works by Morley, Byrd, Weelkes and Wilbye. In late May, our program, “Not So Serious”, focuses on light-hearted, humorous madrigals and joyful motets that send our spirits soaring. Performances at Church of the Holy Trinity (10 Trinity Square - Eaton Centre) and St. Aidan’s Anglican Church (70 Silver Birch Ave. at Queen St. E.). Check out the website for times.

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Founded in 1998, the Canadian Sinfonietta is a chamber orchestra led by conductor Tak-Ng Lai and concertmaster Joyce Lai. The orchestra is comprised of 25 professional musicians who perform at the Glenn Gould Studio (250 Front St. W), and the Markham People’s Theatre for the Performing Arts (22 Esna Park Dr.). Chamber concerts are held with a wine and finger food reception at the Heliconian Hall (35 Hazelton Ave.), the Tran-Baker Centre (225 Geary Ave.) and Infiniti Music Hall in Markham.

The mission of the Canadian Sinfonietta is to attract a new generation of concert-goers by presenting concerts that have a balance of traditional and newly composed or culturally interesting programs. Concerts are both accessible as well as new and fresh. Programs often feature interdisciplinary artistic presentations, multicultural music, non-western instruments and highlight diverse Canadian artists.

CS is a community conscious group and plays an active role through partnership with local community groups. A Youth Mentorship Program encompasses the 2 youth orchestras and the annual young artist competition and concert. CS is also a recipient of the New Horizons Grant, which enables them to outreach in the senior community.

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Based in Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company is the largest producer of opera in Canada and one of the largest in North America. The company enjoys an international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation. The company presents six fully-staged productions at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts annually. The COC’s repertoire spans the history of opera from the Baroque to the 21st-century and includes several commissioned works and Canadian premieres. Professional opera artists from all over the world are engaged for COC productions, including a significant number of Canadian singers, directors, conductors and designers. The company performs with its own professional chorus and orchestra. The company also fosters emerging Canadian talent through its Ensemble Studio, Orchestra Academy and company-in-residence programs.

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The Canadian Music Centre is the catalyst that connects you to the ever-evolving world of musical creation in Canada through performance, education and promotion. The CMC provides unique resources for exploring, discovering, and performing Canadian music. We are passionate about nurturing a musical community that honours our legacy and supports the professional development of Canadian musicians and composers.

The CMC has been supporting, preserving, and celebrating the works of Canadian composers since 1959. As proud and passionate advocates, we offer innovative resources for discovering, exploring, listening to and playing Canadian music online and in five regional hubs across Canada. These resources include library services, music services (sales and rentals of scores, books and recordings), distribution services (Centrediscs, Centrestreams and support to Indie labels), education and outreach, “CMC Presents” concert series and workshops, Associate Composer program, and communications tools to promote contemporary musical creation in Canada and abroad. Founded in 1983, CMC Ontario Region works province-wide in collaboration with artists, educators and organizations to present performances, workshops, and other activities.

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The Canadian Men’s Chorus is on a mission to redefine low-voice choral music in Toronto. Under the leadership of Greg Rainville, the CMC brings to life the finest works from a wide range of material: contemporary choral, theatre, jazz, pop, barbershop, and new commissioned works.

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Now over 50 years old, the CCOC consists of six chorus divisions of children and youth from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12, and is the only permanent children’s opera company in Canada to regularly commission and produce operas for children. Opera is simply storytelling with music, and those are two things that kids and youth love!

A unique experience, the CCOC offers members unparalleled performance opportunities and life skills through age-appropriate vocal and dramatic training. Members regularly perform with the Canadian Opera Company and other major professional arts organizations. Rehearsals are weekdays after school in the downtown area. Auditions are held April to June and occasionally during the year. A non-auditioned in- and after-school workshop program was launched in 2008 as part of the OPERAtion KIDS outreach arm of the CCOC. Highlighting the current season is the May 2020 return of Errol Gay and Michael Patrick Albano’s masterful adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.

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The CAO is a registered charity dedicated to connecting people through music, celebrating the diversity of Canada’s cultural mosaic with classical Arabic music from all corners of the Arab world, spanning a time period that goes back to early Andalusia, and presented at times with a fusion of classical western and other world music. The CAO organizes a two-week annual celebration of Arabic music and arts in Canada, presenting music concerts, theatre, film and arts exhibitions. Over the last week of October and the first week of November, FAMA presents an array of Canadian and International artists with a wide variety of genres and disciplines.

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Burlington Symphony Orchestra and newly appointed music director Denis Mastromonaco offer a season of riches in 2019/20. On September 29, the orchestra performs with Sultans of String as part of Burlington’s “Culture Days”. “Russian Treasures” on Nov 3 features Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Jianhan Wu, piano. “A Christmas Spectacular!” on December 8 features family favourites and a sing-along with the Burlington Civic Chorale. “Love at the Opera” on February 16 features favourite works sung by brilliant opera singers from southern Ontario. “In Nature’s Realm” on May 10 features Vivaldi’s Spring, Debussy’s Danses sacrée et profane and Dvorak’s joyous Symphony No. 6 – soloists Corey Gemmell, violin, and Kristan Toczko, harp.

Burlington Symphony Orchestra (formerly Symphony on the Bay) is a full-size community orchestra serving Burlington, Hamilton and the surrounding areas. Composed of talented amateurs, students and professionals, the Burlington Symphony performs in the magnificent Performing Arts Centre in downtown Burlington. Visit our website for tickets and details.

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Bravo Niagara! is a not-for-profit registered charity dedicated to producing extraordinary concert experiences featuring the world’s leading artists, as well as rising young stars, in Niagara wine country. Concerts take place at the historic St. Mark’s Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake and the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines. The 2019/20 season is brimming with Canadian and international treasures and opens with the return of superstar soprano Measha Brueggergosman (October 19). The annual “Voices of Freedom Festival” features a double bill performance: jazz piano legend Monty Alexander and his Harlem-Kingston Express blend the sounds of his native Kingston, Jamaica, with the classic jazz tradition of New York’s Harlem, plus the Larnell Lewis Band (Nov 8). Canadian treasure Ofra Harnoy takes the stage for a rare recital (Nov 30). 2020 programming features legendary jazz vocalist Kurt Elling (February 14), classical guitar sensation MILOŠ (March 15), the Brubeck Brothers Quartet’s “Dave Brubeck Centennial Celebration” (April 5), and “From Broadway, With Love” (May 2). The season finale features two virtuoso musicians, iconic violinist Cho-Liang Lin and pianist Jon Kimura Parker in recital (May 3).

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The Borealis Big Band idea was created in the summer of 2017 with our first rehearsals in September 2017 alternating between the Chartwell Park Place Retirement Residence and the Chartwell Hollandview Trail Retirement Residence, both located in Aurora. Thanks to our friends at both these Chartwell locations for your ongoing hospitality.

As the Borealis name suggests, the new band has a very close association with the Town of Aurora, as the five original founders live in or close to Aurora. However, we are especially proud that we have participation from musicians from throughout the Greater Toronto Area. The Borealis Big Band was set up to provide an opportunity for band members to play challenging music in a wide variety of big band jazz styles including: swing, funk, smooth, and Latin/Cuban, and play it to the highest quality possible, with lots of room for improvisation for all those members interested. In our opinion, the best bands are entertaining because the musicians in the band work hard to be the best they can and everyone in the band loves to perform every time they pick up their instrument. The promise we make is that our performance will always be fun for everyone involved and for everyone watching and listening.