From May 7 to 10, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music will host an international gathering that asks a deceptively simple question: what does “classical music” mean in our globalized world?
Global Musical Modernities and Local Agency brings together more than 50 speakers from 17 countries under the umbrella of the Global Western Art Music Network, a research initiative rethinking the boundaries — and assumptions — of Western art music.
Alongside panels spanning regions from Latin America to East Asia, the Middle East, and the Afro-diaspora, the conference opens out into the city with concerts, lecture-recitals, a roundtable with arts leaders, and an exhibition at the Canadian Music Centre. The idea is not just to talk about music differently but to hear it differently too.
Free Concerts
The event includes two free concerts by internationally renowned musicians.
On May 7, Armenian-Canadian pianist Eve Egoyan presents Longing and Belonging, a program shaped by her Armenian heritage and recent travels — less a recital in the traditional sense than a personal reflection in sound.
“The diverse and deeply expressive music on this program represents part of a very personal journey […] I am Armenian-Canadian, born in Canada to Armenian parents. My father’s parents were both orphans of the Armenian genocide,” says Egoyan.
Drawing on music from Armenia and its diaspora, Egoyan’s program traces a search for connection across generations.
“I hope to find a musical place for myself between remnants of the past and the energy of the present […] something safe for me nestled within its extraordinarily rich and ancient culture.”
On May 8, the British-Lebanese flautist Wissam Boustany presents Fluid Identities, a program that treats culture as something constantly in motion rather than fixed.
“My recital explores identity and culture as perpetually evolutionary and fluid concepts that cannot be pinned down […] especially in the context of our fractured common humanity,” he says.
Talks & More
During the afternoon of May 8, there will be a keynote address from Prof. Daniel Chua from the University of Hong Kong foundations.
A leading voice in rethinking classical music’s philosophical underpinnings, Chua anchors the event’s intellectual explorations, adding a provocative edge by questioning whether the way we talk about “global” music is actually changing anything or simply repackaging familiar ideas in new language.
At the heart of the conference is a shift in perspective. Rather than treating Western classical music as a fixed tradition exported to the rest of the world, Global Musical Modernities and Local Agency focuses on how musicians and communities actively reshape it.
The emphasis on local agency signals a move away from passive reception toward creative adaptation, resistance, and transformation.
In Toronto, the event feels particularly at home. The city’s musical life has long been shaped by overlapping communities and cross-cultural exchanges. Hosting a conference like this positions the city not just as a stop on the international circuit, but as a site where these conversations are already unfolding.
For listeners, this is a chance to hear music that doesn’t just sit politely and comfortably in its allocated niche but rather reflects the complexity of the world around it: it’s an opportunity to experience – and think about – classical music differently.
Details
- Find the conference program, details, and registration information [HERE].
Recitals
- Find details about Eve Egoyan’ s recital [HERE].
- Find details about Wissam Boustany’s recital [HERE].
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