Toronto’s classical and chamber music fans can look forward to more than three weeks of first rate performances when Toronto Summer Music comes back for 2026. TSM 2026, the first under new Artistic Director William Fedkenheuer, takes place from July 9 to August 1.
“This summer marks my first season as Artistic Director. As a Canadian artist shaped by chamber music, mentorship, and a few spirited fiddle tunes along the way, stepping into TSM feels both like coming home and setting out on a bold new adventure. My hope is clear: that TSM 2026 affirms Canada’s place on the global stage — a festival where artistry, imagination, and excellence meet at the highest level,” says William Fedkenheuer, Artistic Director.
“At its heart, TSM is about connection — artists listening deeply, audiences leaning in, and a city gathering around something meaningful. From intimate chamber music to opera and the sweep of orchestral sound in Koerner Hall, each week invites discovery and celebration. And yes — for one evening, we’ll tip our hats to my roots, where classical tradition meets the joy and spontaneity of fiddle. Because whether in a grand hall or around a kitchen table, great music is ultimately about belonging.”
Along with his administrative duties, Fedkenheuer is clearly a musician’s musician. There were several short performance interludes at the TSM announcement event on February 26, many of them featuring his spirited playing.
“I started the violin as a boy — and I hated it!” he told the audience to a round of chuckles. It’s an aversion he overcame largely via chamber music, and fiddling, as he related. He’s a performer in six of the mainstage concerts, including one with his own Miró Quartet.
Here’s a look at what’s in store.
Toronto Summer Music 2026: At A Glance
There are 18 Mainstage concerts, and 8 ReGeneration Concerts featuring Academy Fellows, along with free concerts, children’s programming, and educational events.
Full details will be announced in June.
Opening Night: Les Arts Florissants (July 9 at Koerner Hall)
Les Arts Florissants returns to Toronto to perform Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux enfers, based on a story from ancient Greek myth. Euridice has died, and Orpheus descends into the underworld to rescue her from Pluto, its god. Also on the program is Les arts florissants, the 1685 opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier from which the ensemble takes its name.
Fire & Resilience (July 10 at Walter Hall)
Solitude, song, and survival are the themes for this concert that features Bach’s Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006; Selections from Copland’s Old American Songs; Kelly-Marie Murphy’s Give Me Phoenix Wings To Fly; and Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57. Performers include by Sasha Cooke (mezzo-soprano), Blake Pouliot (violin), William Fedkenheuer (violin), Yura Lee (violin/viola), Estelle Choi (cello), and Philip Chiu (piano).
Cooke & Jones: Of Thee I Sing (July 13 at Walter Hall)
Two-time GRAMMY Award-winner Sasha Cooke and pianist Warren Jones offer a program featuring works by iconic American composers and others. The mezzo-soprano will sing works by Copland, Barber, Weill, Sondheim, and Gershwin, as well as selections from Granados’s Tonadillas, and more.
Heifetz & The “Dolphin” Strad (July 14 at Walter Hall)
Jascha Heifetz was one of the most celebrated violinists in history. This concert pays tribute to him, featuring Timothy Chooi performing on the legendary 1714 “Dolphin” Stradivarius, famously played by Heifetz, together with acclaimed pianist Jon Kimura Parker. The program showcases the storied instrument with the Vitali Chaconne, Gluck’s “Mélodie”, Corigliano’s Red Violin Caprices, and then, after intermission, Franck’s Sonata for violin and piano in A Major.
Balourdet Quartet (July 15 at Walter Hall)
The Balourdet Quartet took home a Gold Medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, along with and Grand Prize at New York’s Concert Artists Guild Competition. They’ll perform a program of Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 95; the Canadian Première of Nicky Sohn’s Galaxy Back to You; and Brahms’s String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat Major, Op. 67.
Golden Age: Erin Morley & Lawrence Brownlee (July 16 at Koerner Hall)
Met Opera stars Erin Morley & Lawrence Brownlee released their debut duet album Golden Age in late 2025, and it’s been widely acclaimed ever since. It was named one of the top 25 albums of 2025 by the New York Times and won the Oper! Award for best solo album. The two stellar vocalists have curated a selection of opera gems, highlights arias and duets from the golden age of bel canto, featuring the music of Donizetti, Rossini, Bizet, Delibes, and Verdi.
Improbable Places: (July 17 at Walter Hall)
Two members of the Dover Quartet (Bryan Lee, violin, and Camden Shaw, cello) get together with two members from the Viano Quartet (Hao Zhou, violin, and Aiden Kane, viola), along with William Fedkenheuer (violin), and Jon Kimura Parker (piano) for this concert. The program features Clara Schumann’s Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22; Kevin Lau’s String Quartet No. 5, “The Train to Improbable Places”; Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44, No. 1; and Dvořák’s Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 81, B. 155.
Kleztory (July 20 at Walter Hall)
Humour and music come together in the lively performances of Kleztory. Founded in 2000 and based in Montréal, Kleztory’s music respects the heritage of the Eastern European shtetlech, and represents a rich tapestry of cultures, including Russian, Québécois, and Canadian. They perform across a variety of genres, including classical, contemporary, jazz, blues, traditional, country and folk.
Two Sides Of The Same Fiddle (July 21 at Walter Hall)
What separates a violin from a fiddle? Artistic Director William Fedkenheuer performs the music that ignites his musical passions, including classical music with acclaimed pianist Orion Weiss, and country fiddling with Ben Plotnick and Eric Wright of The Fretless. Repertoire includes Brahms’s Violin Sonata in A minor, “F-A-E”, III. Scherzo, WoO 2; Mozart’s Violin Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 454; Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30, No. 3; and Dvořák’s Sonatina in G Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 100, B. 183, with additional fiddle tunes to be announced from the stage.
Poiesis Quartet (July 22 at Walter Hall)
The Poiesis Quartet are the recent winners of the 2026 Cleveland Quartet Award, and the First Prize and Commission Prize recipients of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition. They’ve been widely celebrated for their innovative and multifaceted approach to classical music. For this concert, they’re joined by TSM festival favourite pianist Philip Chiu for a program that includes music by Sky Macklay, Maya Irizarry Lambright, and Kevin Lau, culminating in Brahms’s epic Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34.
Inon Barnatan (July 23 at Koerner Hall)
Piano superstar Inon Barnatan is one of the most highly acclaimed artists of his generation. He’ll be performing a blockbuster program that features J.S. Bach’s Suite from Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006 arranged by Rachmaninoff; Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales, M.61; Stravinsky’s Suite from The Firebird arranged by Guido Agosti; and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, arranged by Barnatan himself.
Prodigies & Power (July 24 at Walter Hall)
This concert features the work of composers whose genius was recognized very early in life. The program includes Prokofiev’s Sonata in C Major for Two Violins, Op. 56, Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66, and Dohnányi’s Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1. The music will be performed by Andrew Wan (violin), Jonathan Crow (violin), William Fedkenheuer (violin), Sharon Wei (viola), Rachel Mercer (cello), and Orion Weiss (piano).
Council: Kahane & Kuusisto (July 27 at Walter Hall)
Iconic Finnish musician Pekka Kuusisto and cult American singer-songwriter Gabriel Kahane have been friends in music for almost a decade. They come together as Council to perform a program that includes songs and chamber music.
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (July 28 at Walter Hall)
The musicians of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center include Sean Lee (violin), Nicholas Canellakis (cello), and Michael Stephen Brown (piano). They’ll be performing Brahms’s Sonata No. 2 in F major for Cello and Piano, Op. 99, Haydn’s Piano Trio No. 39 in G Major, Hob.XV:25, “Gypsy”, and Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49.
Miró Quartet (July 29 at Walter Hall)
The Miró Quartet is Artistic Director William Fedkenheuer’s longtime ensemble, and one of the most highly acclaimed string quartets in America. They mark their return to Toronto as an ensemble following their 2025 GRAMMY nomination for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for their album Home. They’ll be playing Haydn’s String Quartet No. 55 in D Major, Op. 71, “Apponyi”, No. 2, Hob.III:70; Caroline Shaw’s Microfictions, Vol. I; and Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130, with Op. 133, “Grosse Fuge”.
Élisabeth Pion & Emmanuel Ceysson (July 30 at Koerner Hall)
Élisabeth Pion, who became the first Canadian woman to become a Honens Gold Laureate pianist in 2025, and Los Angeles Philharmonic Principal Harp Emmanuel Ceysson showcase their talents in this unique concert. The program includes Renié’s Harp Concerto in C minor, Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto in G minor, and more. Élisabeth and Emmanuel are joined by the TSM Festival Orchestra under the baton of Ryan Haskins.
Souvenir de Florence (July 31 at Walter Hall)
Featured performers include Daniel Ching (violin), Jennifer Frautschi (violin), John Largess (viola), Rémi Pelletier (viola), Joshua Gindele (cello), Nina Lee (cello), Emmanuel Ceysson (harp), and Kelly Zimba Lukić (flute) for this concert that lauds the charms of chamber music. The program includes Tournier’s Sonatine in E minor, Op. 30; Debussy’s Trio for Flute, Viola, and Harp in F Major, L. 137; Kodály’s Duo for Violin and Cello in D minor, Op. 7,; and Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70.
TSM Finale (August 1 at Walter Hall)
Academy Fellows, Festival Artist Mentors, and Community Program participants come together to wrap up the 2026 Festival with an epic finale concert.
More…
The ReGeneration Concerts feature performers from the TSM Academy for Emerging Artists, which runs concurrently with the Festival. Participants (ages 18-35) receive intensive training in classical chamber music and art song. Eight ReGeneration Concerts will be presented in Walter Hall to showcase their talents.
- Festival Passes are on sale now in person or by phone only, with single tickets available as of March 13, 2026. Find details [HERE].
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