L-R (clockwise): Composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir (Photo courtesy of the artist); the seven finalists of the Canadian Opera Company Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition & Gala (Photos courtesy of the artists); the Tetzlaff/Tetzlaff/Doerken Trio (Photo courtesy of the artists)

This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between October 20 and 26, 2025. For more of what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.

Chopin Competition: Final — Day 3

Monday, October 20, Noon, Eastern Daylight Time for Toronto (6 p.m. Central European Summer Time), live online at the YouTube channel of the Chopin Institute, free.

Kevin Chen, 20, of Calgary, is one of the 11 finalists of the 2025 International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. From 642 applications, 171 participants were invited to the preliminary back in April/March 2025. From there 84 were invited to the October rounds in Warsaw. Since the inauguration date, October 2, these pianists have been pouring their soul onto the stage, and finally, we are at the last day of the finals round. With Bruce Liu’s gold medal win in 2021, more Canadians became aware of the Chopin competition; with intensive live broadcast programming from various international festivals, including Queen Elizabeth, and Van Cliburn for 2025, there are growing enthusiasts who gladly spends hours at home watching, and getting right into the drama of the competition. Unlike other international competitions where the final concerti choices are often left free to the pianists, the Chopin finalists must play one of the two Chopin concerti, which makes it an interesting experience — the same text, but different people: what do you see, and what do they see? What does the panel see? It’s a really fascinating exercise, if you can make the time. Fortunately, you can hop onto the 2025 competition performances on Chopin Institute’s YouTube channel, and catch up to your heart’s content — and see who would be chosen for that coveted first prize at the end of today. This is a great way to experience the intensity and challenges of a major international competition; who knows, this might inspire you to take a fancy, and take that flight to a competition to see it live — it is quite an experience! Info here.

Music Toronto: Tetzlaff/Tetzlaff/Doerken Trio

Tuesday, October 21, 7:30 p.m.
Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, $60+, Artsworker discount and free student admissions available

Christian Tetzlaff, a true master of the violin (check out his recent recording of Elgar and Thomas Adès’s Violin Concerto ‘Concentric Paths’ with the BBC Philharmonic/John Storgårds — still brand new, as it’s just been released on Oct 3 — it’s provocative, contrarian, and muscular), his sister, Tanja Tetzlaff, and pianist Kiveli Doerken are in Toronto this Tuesday. They bring three major piano trios: Mozart K. 542, Smetana’s first piano trio, and Tchaikovsky, Op. 50. A broad spectrum of this program will surely please chamber music aficionados, especially with this Smetana. Smetana was processing the death of his eldest daughter through this composition, and the tragic depth of the work and the hint of salvation at the end, make this a standout selection from the trio repertoire. Info here.

Trinity Bach Project: Bach & Earth

Thursday, October 23, 1 p.m. Trinity College Chapel, University of Toronto, 6 Hoskin Ave.; Friday, October 24, 8 p.m., St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican, 1847 Bayview Ave.;October 26, 4 p.m., St. Martin-in-the-Fields Anglican Church; Sunday, Nov 09, 3 p.m., Metropolitan United Church. Pay-What-You-Choose: 30/20/10, Thursday Oct 23 is open to the public, no tickets required.

This small, dedicated group opens its 25/26 season with Bach’s cantatas BWV 187, Es wartet alles auf dich (“Everything waits on you”), and BWV 76, Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes (“The heavens declare the glory of God”). It’s an intimate group of 14 singers and a small chamber ensemble of strings, oboes, organ and a trumpet — yet it’s amazing how many different colours and textures Bach can inspire. Ticheli’s Earth Song, and Reger’s Morgengesang, two a cappella offerings fill out this lovely program. Come out of the bustle of the early week, into the serene space of the Trinity College Chapel, and give yourself space to fill up the hour with peace and beauty. It is hard to discern truth through the noise of the world, yet it’s the space that we may create ourselves that lets us see the truth, and hope — this midday concert is a great way to channel things beyond the daily grind. Info here.

Canadian Opera Company: Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition & Gala

Thursday, October 23, 6:30 p.m.
Four Seasons Centre, $100+

How quickly a year flows! This Thursday, the annual Ensemble Studio Competition returns to the Four Seasons Centre. Featuring seven finalists carefully chosen from the national audition tour consisting of 117 singers, the COC Ensemble Studio program has nurtured and supported many young artists in their early career stage, and it’s always exciting to feel the energy from these talented and determined individuals. A short, sweet evening with promise of much excitement, even if we have to remind ourselves that sometimes, ‘…competitions are for horses, not artists’ (Bartók) — this evening is a celebration of all finalists, and their communities, families, and mentors, making music a true human activity. Info here.

Royal Canadian College of Organists Toronto Centre: Phantoms of the Organ

Friday, October 24, 8 p.m.
Metropolitan United Church, free will donation

Gather your young goblins, ghouls, tricksters and monsters, in full costume, and wander down to the Metropolitan United for the annual Halloween Phantoms of the organ concert. As the largest organ in the whole of Canada reverberates with scary, silly, and dramatic music, this is a wonderful open event to experience organ music at its fullest. If the event leaves you spine-tingled, please do keep an eye on the updates from the Royal Canadian College of Organists Toronto Centre, as they hosts many open events throughout the year for the curious, uninitiated, and the all-in dedicatees of the biggest, and the oldest instrument of western culture: the pipe organ. Info here.

Continuum Contemporary Music: Woven Shores

Friday, October 24, 8 p.m.
St. George’s Grange Park, 30 Stephanie St., $20+, student, arts work, and senior discount available

Continuum opens their 41st season with music of Anna Thorvaldsdottir: Scape; Ashkan Behzadi: Abyss — Refractive; Nathan Friedman: Barcarolle; Ann Cleare: 93 million miles away; Emilie Lebel: Turning (world premiere). Often it seems that large arts companies bring us the wave of fresh, new ideas — but the truth is that small, nimble, independent arts organizations are the ones who continue to challenge both the audience, and the arts sector, with often difficult, lesser-known works, pouring their hearts out to bring it to us in a live-art form. Continuum’s contribution to Toronto’s contemporary classical music scene has been integral; so come out, with open mind, and experience what contemporary classical music means. There are so many different facets, styles, and soundscapes, that it’s really impossible to say that you simply don’t like the genre — after all, isn’t variety the real richness of life? And how are we to discern what we like, and what we do not, without a real, in-person experience? Info here.

Pax Christi: Resonance: Music for Choir and Percussion

Saturday, October 25, 4 p.m.
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St., choose-your-price: $40/20/10

There are special people, once in a blue moon, who can draw a community an inch closer, bind them together just a little tighter, and bring us into a better world. Dr. Elaine Choi is one of those salt-of-the-earth people. As artistic director of Pax Christi, founder and artistic director of Babεl, and music director of Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, she’s been creating quite some momentum in Toronto’s community choral scene by gathering people, leading workshops, and inspiring young and old, from coast to coast. For this Saturday, Pax Christi, strong with 100 voices, presents a lovely program centred around Misa Criolla by Argentinian composer Ariel Ramirez, with guest artists, including Oregano Percussion (Michelle Colton and Alejandro Céspedes). Since 1964, Ramirez’s Misa has been performed all over the world, and its combination of Latin American folk music with the traditional Western Catholic mass service — one of the earliest works that blends vernacular with Catholicism after the massive cultural change brought on through the Second Vatican Council — is simply beautiful and evocative. This is a lovely way to experience music-making with excellence at the community level, and the flexible pricing is a great way to gather everyone for the weekend, celebrating everyone — everyone with voice, ears, and hearts. Info here.

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Hye Won Cecilia Lee

Cecilia tumbled into 'serious' music study when she decided to avoid attending medical school. Currently working in the field of classical music, recording, and Korean-English interpretation, she tends to get her nose dirty in many different things in the city. Cecilia holds a DMA in Piano Performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.