This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between Dec. 11 and Dec. 24, 2023. For more of what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.

Tafelmusik/Messiah

Thursday Dec. 14, Friday Dec. 15, Saturday Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Koerner Hall. $50+

The city’s early-music Messiah this year features soloists Rachel Redmond, Cameron Shahbazi, James Reese and Enrico Lagasca under Ivars Taurins. Info here.

Soundstreams/Electric Messiah

Thursday Dec. 14 (7:30 p.m.), Friday Dec. 15 (7:30 p.m.), Saturday Dec. 16 (2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.), Sunday Dec. 17 (2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.). Theatre Passe Muraille (16 Ryerson Ave.). $25+

Adam Scime is in charge of an amplified and staged Messiah with Midori Marsh, soprano; Rebecca Cuddy mezzo-soprano; Elizabeth Shepherd, vocals; Daniel Cabena, countertenor; and Korin Thomas-Smith, baritone. Plus a five-person band. The performances include a new piece by Ian Cusson. Read our interview with music director Adam Scime here. Info here.

St. James Cathedral/Messiah

Friday Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m. St. James Cathedral. $25

Thomas Bell leads the choirs of St. James Cathedral and Trinity College (U of T) and an orchestra. Soloists: Anna Kwiatkowska, Christina Stelmacovich, Jacob Abrahamse, Dion Mazerolle. The hook: Artists from OCAD will paint canvasses as the performance inspires them. Auction follows. Read our Preview here. Info here.

Nathaniel Dett Chorale/Indigo Christmas

Friday Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m. St. Andrew’s Church (King and Simcoe). $45, senior $39, student $15, 12 and under free.

The 25-year-old choir performs the Nguzo Saba Suite by Glenn Edward Burleigh (1949-2007) as well as works in praise of the Black Madonna by Bax, Derrick Carter, Casals, Paweł Łukaszewski and Poulenc. Info here.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra/Messiah

Sunday Dec. 17 at 3 p.m. (also Dec. 19, 20, 22, 23 at 8 p.m.). Roy Thomson Hall. $104+

The British conductor and scholar Dame Jane Glover takes the reins of the TSO’s annual run of Handel’s greatest hit. Soloists: Lauren Snouffer, Krisztina Szabó, Colin Ainsworth, Joshua Hopkins. The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir knows the piece pretty well. Info here.

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Arthur Kaptainis

Arthur Kaptainis was classical music critic of the Montreal Gazette from 1986 to 2022 and wrote for the National Post from 2010 to 2016. His articles appear in Classical Voice North America and Gramophone as well as Ludwig Van. Arthur holds an MA in musicology from the University of Toronto. He is president of the Music Critics Association of North America.

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