This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between February 23 and March 1, 2026. For more of what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.
National Ballet of Canada: Flight Pattern / Suite en Blanc
Friday, February 27, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, February 28, 2 p.m., and 7:30 p.m., Sunday, March 1, 2 p.m., with four additional performances in the following week
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, $56+
I’ve been dying to see anything and everything by the choreographer Crystal Pite ever since I saw Angel’s Atlas in 2020. Pite’s works may shatter what people would expect from the conventional idea of ballet — in the best way possible. Finally, this week, Pite’s Flight Pattern, and a contrasting work by Serge Lifar, Suite en Blanc, returns to the Four Seasons. With live performances of the first movement from Górecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (featuring the NBC debut of soprano Measha Brueggergosman-Lee) — a work that sold over a million copies in its serene, sorrowful beauty, topping not only classical charts, but international pop charts too — along with the feisty, evocative music of Édouard Lalo, the program promises much emotion and beauty. Seeing the human body move in space in real time, along with sound that is made to exist, and flow in real space, is a true sensory experience that no screen and speakers can ever emulate. Not to be missed. Read our Preview of the performance here. Info here.
The Happenstancers: Die Nacht / Der Mond
Saturday, February 28, 7:30 p.m.
Array Space, 155 Walnut Ave., $30
Often we forget what art is really about. Of course, the actual physical representations of art, as works — books, performances, paintings — all are lovely things to accumulate, collect, and catalogue in the big list of important human civilization. However, it is in the individual human experience that art thrives and truly exists. With so much noise in the world, it’s difficult to discern what might be worthwhile. People no longer just walk into a coffeeshop — a web search is a must, and a first. The major disadvantage of such cultural flow is that it is so easy to get lost in the echo chamber. The same things, the same people, the same aesthetics get fed and fed again, obliterating everything else that is even just slightly different. To see the Happenstancers take the time and expertise to craft really beautiful music that is considered non-mainstream for many is heartwarming. Saariaho, Jörg Widmann, Thomas Adès, Peter Eotvos, and György Kurtág — all these names may ring strange to many. However, among the enthusiasts, these composers represent the best of human expression, just as Brahms and Fauré did; the only difference being the distance of time. A classic is survived, rather than made. So come out to this program, put your fear of new music aside, and sink into these amazing sound events: let your mind wander, and simply experience. It’s when we have the least expectation, that we may see all the beauty that has always been there; exuding on its own, even when it feels fresh, strange, and wonderful. Read our Preview of the concert here. Info here.
Royal Conservatory of Music: Danish String Quartet
February 28, Saturday, 8 p.m.
Koerner Hall, $55+
The Danish String Quartet returns to Koerner for the third time, bringing an intriguing mix of repertoire. Ravel’s quartet in F major, a lush work by a young Ravel, aged 28, is one of the best loved works of the canon, often contested with Debussy’s quartet for the title of best Romantic quartet masterpiece. However, Schnittke’s music, full of both humour and incredible bitterness, manic joy and the most heartwrenching lamentation, will be the real treat, as the DSQ’s versatility and sensitivity will shine through the demands of such thorny writing. The Suite from There Will Be Blood (2007), a masterwork from the chameleon Jonny Greenwood of the famed Radiohead, has won hoards of best score for film awards, including a nod from the GRAMMYs. It is gritty, eerie, and beautiful. The soundtracks’ emotional impact, coupled with Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano’s superb acting, made the film a real standout. The programming promises much drama and incredible intensity. Not to be missed. Info here.
Royal Conservatory of Music: Chanticleer
March 1, Sunday, 3 p.m., Koerner Hall, $50+
The 12-men strong a capella group, Chanticleer, will fill out this Sunday afternoon with music from everywhere — as far ancient as Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla, and as close as Pete Seeger and Irving Berlin — along with music of the people of spirituals and American folksongs, as well as contemporary art music. This Grammy-winning group’s musical versatility is magical in its illustration of what male voices are capable of. As high as countertenors, and going deep, deep down with a true bass, come and see their magical blending, and be touched by the one of the most essential expressions of humanity — the voice. Info here.
Amici Chamber Ensemble: From Mozart to Mamma Mia
March 1, Sunday, 3 p.m.
Trinity St. Paul’s United Church and Centre for Faith, Justice and the Arts, $30+
Amici’s third concert of the year is a good mix of elegance and pure fun. It is so easy to categorize things, and keep things separated — like little school childrens’ lunch plates, where the food groups are never meant to touch each other. However, joy is joy, and beauty is beauty, regardless of the vessels that carry it. Amici’s choice of Mozart and ABBA may seem strange; however, isn’t it true that both entities managed to get the people up from their chairs and sing along to those incredible melodies — many earworms that will burrow into your heart? Come out and join Amici and friends, as they move seamlessly from the eternal beauty of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, to the best of ABBA. Info here.
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