This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between May 19 and May 25, 2025. For more of what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.
Against the Grain Theatre. Identity: A Song Cycle
Friday, May 23, and Saturday, May 24, 8 p.m.
Marilyn and Charles Baillie Theatre, 464 Spadina Ave, $25+
Joel Ivany returns to the Against the Grain Theatre, and with Elliot Madore, AtG presents this new program: Identity. As we continue to look into identities in many different places — the tariff wars, the world political conflicts, diminishing fundings for various minorities — it is vital to hear the stories from those who are examining the concept and reality of identity, especially when it’s explored by living composers, creators, and performers. Madore’s thoughts on being biracial are a very close subject to many; come and witness Dinuk Wijeratne and acclaimed poet Shauntay Grant’s new work in action, at the Marilyn and Charles Baillie Theatre, the mainstage space in the historic Berkeley Street Theatre. Read our Preview here. Info here.
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Samuel Mariño at the Opera: Bologne & Mozart
Friday, May 23, 8 p.m., Saturday, May 24, 8 p.m., Sunday, May 25, 3 p.m.
Koerner Hall, $35+
Mariño, a male soprano, first appeared in Toronto in 2023, and his rich, flamboyant and lyrical magic captivated the audiences right away. For this second visit, Mariño has curated a demanding program full of beautiful arias and sinfonias of the classical era: Mozart, Bologna, Salieri, Haydn, and Gluck. Joseph Bologne, a brilliant Black 18th-century composer, deserves to be heard along with these illustrious contemporaries; if you wonder whether he really belongs to this group, this would be the chance — to hear it live, through Mariño’s impressive voice. Mariño has been all over the world, including L’Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal de Versailles, the Gluck Festival, and Cavalieri for a European tour. Here’s an opportunity to experience this rare timbre of the highest male voice range: human bodies are capable of so many things, and the individual differences among us is a real cause for expression, celebration, and recognition. Read our Preview here. Info here.
Canadian Music Centre: Arlan Vriens: Retrievals: New Music for Old Tech
Saturday, May 24, 7:30 p.m.
Canadian Music Centre, free
The variety and quirkiness of independent projects in our town is astonishing, hilarious, and sometimes quite touching. Violinist Arlan Vriens brings two brand new works by young, living composers: Tsz Long (Fish) Yu and James Lowrie, with Tim Roth performing Alvin Lucier’s Clocker (1978), one of the earliest minimalist electronic music pieces. ‘Expect 90s living room vibes, street lights indoors, an ice-fishing camera shaped like a fish,’ says Vriens. It is hilarious to me to think of the 90s as history —however, it can be… a good few decades have passed since. What is nostalgia for young-old-people facing mid 30s and onward, drumming towards the middle age? What is the current ‘middle age?’ So many technologies came and went since the 80s, and as the tech accelerated its own evolution, once miraculous objects became obsolete — cassettes, old-school camcorders, CDs and DVDs, RCA cables — the list grows exponentially every day, it seems. Come early for 7 p.m., and hear Vriens explain the “… very serious academic reasons for this madness.” Even if the philosophical musing isn’t for you, come for the unusual soundscape that can only be accessed by analogue performers and digital manipulators together. Info here.
Estonian Music Week: Vox Clamantis
Sunday, May 25, 8 p.m.
Trinity-St. Paul’s Church, $30.04+
The 5th edition of Estonian Music Week Festival (May 22-25, 2025) takes over downtown. Ranging from folktronic (if your curiosity piques, Tuulikki Bartosik x Sander Mölder, Caracol, the folktronic show is on Saturday the 24th), jazz, multimedia arts, modern pop, to this year’s final act: Vox Clamantis. The Baltics have a great choral singing tradition, which survived great oppression from the Russians/Soviets, and through such political trials, the survival of national culture, and the creation and maintenance of a cohesive national identity has been a common priority for Estonians. In fact, it was their ‘Singing Revolution,’ the mass choral singing protests of 1988-90, that led the way to Estonian independence in 1991. Continuing this vital tradition, VC will be focusing on one of the most beloved of living composers: Arvo Pärt, as he turns 90 this year. VC’s recording of Pärt’s ‘Adam’s Lament’ was a 2014 Grammy winner, and it is special to hear the sentiment that comes from the indescribable familiarity of a shared culture between composer and performers. This would be a great chance to experience what singing means, as an art form, and as a shared cultural identity. Info here.
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