Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir has announced details of their 2025/26 season, the second with British violinist Rachel Podger as Principal Guest Director. Podger will be leading three of the concerts during 2025/26, along with a tour of Western Canada.
The season was curated by Artistic Co-Directors Brandon Chui, Dominic Teresi, and Cristina Zacharias.
Tafelmusik 2025/26
The season builds on the successes of 2024/25, including the highly acclaimed recording of Haydn Symphonies directed by Rachel Podger. With many sold-out performances during the current season, Thursday night concerts are making a comeback, in addition to the usual Friday to Sunday performances.
“Energized by the successes of the last year, our 47th season is filled to the brim with timeless masterworks and rarely heard gems, performed on period instruments with fearless passion,” says Cristina Zacharias, on behalf of Tafelmusik’s Artistic Co-Directors in a statement. “Join us to be entranced, invigorated and delighted through the human connection only music can inspire.”
“The 2025/26 Season is part of our bold vision to share the unique joy of Tafelmusik with audiences here in Toronto and across the globe, thanks to our live and digital concerts, tours, and recordings,” says Glenn Hodgins, Executive Director. “We are filled with gratitude for the generosity of our donors and the support of subscribers, without whom Tafelmusik’s success would not be possible.”
Rachel Podger, Principal Guest Director
Podger leads three concerts during 2025/26.
Mozart 40 & Schubert 5 on Sept 26, 27 & 28 (Koerner Hall)
Rachel Podger will lead Tafelmusik’s season opener. Mozart’s No. 40, completed just three years before his untimely death in 1791, was known to have influenced Schubert and his own Symphony No. 5. Podger and Tafelmusik explore these well known works with their inimitable style.
Bach: Brandenburg Concertos on Jan 29, 30, 31, and Feb 1, 2026 (Jeanne Lamon Hall)
Podger will lead the orchestra in a selection of the iconic Brandenburg Concertos, along with the premiere of a new orchestral arrangement of Bach’s organ Prelude and Fugue in E-Flat Major, “St. Anne.”
Influencers: The Bachs, Mozart & Haydn, Apr 9, 2026 at George Weston Recital Hall; Apr 10, 11 & 12, 2026 at Jeanne Lamon Hall
Podger and the orchestra explore the synergies between these seminal composers of the classical tradition.
Other 2025/26 Season Highlights
Vivaldi’s World on Oct 23, 24, 25, 26, 2025
Directed by Lina Tur Bonet, violin
Spanish violinist Lina Tur Bonet turned heads with her debut with Tafelmusik in 2024, and she’ll be back for a program that includes Vivaldi’s Il Grosso Mogul concerto, Geminiani’s showpiece, La Folia, and works by Zelenka and Albicastro.
Vivaldi’s World will tour east to Ottawa for a performance at the National Arts Centre’s Southam Hall on Oct 27, 2025.
Double Dixit: Lotti & Handel on Nov 28, 29, 30, 2025
Directed by Ivars Taurins
Choral music takes centre stage when Tafelmusik Chamber Choir joins the orchestra to explore settings of the Latin text for Psalm 110 by Lotti and Handel. Choir Director Ivars Taurins curates the program around Venetian Antonio Lotti, who influenced a young Handel when he arrived in Italy.
Handel Messiah on Dec 18, 19, & 20, 2025 at Koerner Hall
Directed by Ivars Taurins
In keeping with the spirit of the original, Tafelmusik brings Handel’s holiday classic to life with a cast of soloists that includes soprano Stephanie True, mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó, tenor Nicholas Scott and bass-baritone Jonathan Woody.
Sing-Along Messiah on Dec 21, 2025 at Massey Hall
Directed by Mr. Handel
The crowd favourite returns, with Mr. Handel directing a mass audience choir along with the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, orchestra, and guest soloists.
Rameau & The Art of Dance: Tafelmusik meets Juilliard on Feb 19, 20, 21, 22, 2026
Directed by Robert Mealy, violin
Choreographed by Caroline Copeland
French baroque dance music comes under the spotlight with guests Juilliard415 joining Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Robert Mealy, violinist and head of Juilliard’s Historical Performance program, leads a program of music by Marais, Rebel, and Rameau, with choreography by renowned baroque dancer Caroline Copeland.
A Bach Celebration on Mar 12, 13, 14, 15, 2026
Directed by Ivars Taurins
Choir Director Ivars Taurins selected a few gems from Bach’s formidable repertoire of more than 200 cantatas. Soloists soprano Myriam Leblanc and Grammy Award–winning tenor James Reese join the orchestra.
Hearing Her Voice on Apr 30, May 1, 2, & 3, 2026
Amanda Forsythe, soprano
Soprano Amanda Forsythe explores female characters from baroque operas and cantatas by Handel, Pergolesi, Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, and others. Tafelmusik extends that attention to women composers with a newly commissioned work by Métis composer Karen Sunabacka.
Beethoven & Bologne: The Winds of Change on May 29, 30, & 31, 2026 at Koerner Hall
Directed by Shunske Sato, violin
The French Revolution inspired many artists with its philosophy of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Japanese-American violinist Shunske Sato makes his Tafelmusik debut leading Beethoven’s revolutionary Symphony no. 3 “Eroica”, and follows with Violin Concerto op. 3, no. 2 by the Black 18th-century composer Joseph Bologne, who fought in the Revolutionary war.
Tafelmusik and Rachel Podger perform at Lotte Concert Hall, Seoul, South Korea on November 1, 2024:
Touring and Recording
Along with the Oct 27, 2025 date at the National Arts Centre’s Southam Hall, Ottawa for Vivaldi’s World, Tafelmusik will be heading west this coming fall.
From Nov 3–23, 2025, Tafelmusik’s Western Canada Tour will take Rachel Podger and the orchestra to British Columbia and Alberta.
Tafelmusik’s program A Handel Celebration, recorded live in concert at Koerner Hall in 2024, will be released in late 2025 as a recording on the Tafelmusik Media label. The album will feature guest soloists Amanda Forsythe, soprano, and Thomas Hobbs, tenor, along with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir directed by Ivars Taurins.
The Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute takes place from June 7 – 20, 2026, at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, providing intensive training in baroque vocal and instrumental performance practice.
Tafelmusik continues its collaboration with Opera Atelier, joining the company for Mozart’s The Magic Flute (Oct 15, 16, 18 & 19, 2025 at the Elgin Theatre) and a new production of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (Apr 15, 16, 18 & 19, 2026 at Koerner Hall). Tafelmusik performs under the baton of Opera Atelier Music Director, David Fallis.
Tafelmusik’s Digital Series Pass returns for 2025/26, including on-demand access to three full-length digital Tafelmusik concerts: Concerti Virtuosi and Bach Brandenburgs! with Rachel Podger, and Vivaldi’s World with Lina Tur Bonet. The Digital Series Pass is complimentary with all live-concert subscriptions and includes films from the Tafelmusik vault, in-depth lectures, pre-concert chats with artists, and other educational content.
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