This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between July 13 and 18, 2026.
Toronto Summer Music: Cooke & Jones: Of Thee I Sing
Monday, July 13, 7:30 p.m.
Walter Hall, University of Toronto, $30+
The versatile and revered Warren Jones, especially known for his performance and educational work for the piano-vocal realm, is in town this summer with TSM. Easily one of the most sought after teachers of piano-vocal art songs, his sensitivity and insight from the piano with, and for vocalists, is legendary. Tonight, he is on stage with Sasha Cooke, two-time GRAMMY winner, presenting a mixed program of Americana and Old World. Ranging from good old Copland, Barber, Heggie and Adams, to Granados, Rachmaninoff and Weil, it’s a great, colourful program full of contrasts and beauty. Come down and start your week with great musicianship and synchronicity between two masterful musicians. Info here.
Collingwood Music Festival: Songs of the Mayflower
Tuesday, July 14, 7 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church, 200 Maple St., Collingwood, $50
If you are lucky enough to be able to head out, or are already there in the glorious summer Ontario countryside, CMF has some lovely offerings of classical and other music. For this week, CMF programmed many delights including light classicals such as Schumaltz & Pepper, and chamber music favourites such as Mendelssohn’s Octet; however, the Songs of the Mayflower stands apart. Ménestrel is presenting selections from Maritimes Canada folksongs with historical practice based on 17th to 18th century Eastern Canada. Over 4,000 songs were collected by Helen Creighton, Canada’s First Lady of Folklore, and as a young country, it’s often weird to think about true Canadian roots — perhaps from the outside, with a quick glance, it might all just look like a jumble of ideas and melodies from the old world. However, with such mixed heritage, it’s even more important and intriguing to look into our own history with care. Here you can listen to songs familiar and new-old, and see where the music takes you — from the great open land of Ontario, to stories and sentiment from those old Maritimes Canada times. Info here.
Toronto Summer Music: Golden Age: Erin Morley & Lawrence Brownlee
Thursday, July 16, 7:30 p.m.
Koerner Hall, $30+
Erin Morley and Lawrence Brownlee are bringing a live version of their recent operatic duet recording, Golden Age, considered one of the top 25 albums of 2025 by the New York Times, for this summer evening. Both have been busy crossing the world singing in major international opera houses and concert stages (too many to list here, truly!) — there’s no doubt of their individual talent and capability. Then there’s that chemistry thing — opera being comically (and tragically) emotional to the point of impossibility — when the singers have that magic chemistry, impossible to describe yet too real to miss the elevation towards sublime. Amongst all the rich offerings from TSM, it’s easy to access great music this month in Toronto, however this is an exceptional evening. Get yourself into the hall, away from the noise of the world, and soak into the max drama of some of the best duets from the operatic canon, as the great Malcolm Martineau delivers rich accompaniment from the piano. Info here.
National Youth Orchestra of Canada: Canadiana Tour 2026
Saturday, July 18, 7:30 p.m.
Koerner Hall, $20+
NYOC, bringing together passionate talents aged 16 to 28 from across the nation, finish their summer training and embark on this 2026 tour with the opening show in Koerner. One of the most competitive programs for young musicians in Canada, the program has trained and fostered many Canadian musicians, and the drive and enthusiasm of NYOC is infectious. Come out this evening to Koerner Hall, and see what they have gathered in the intensive training of the last few weeks. The program consisting of William Grant Still, Liam Ritz (SOCAN/NYOC commission and a world premiere), Elgar Cello Concerto, and Strauss’s Rosenkavalier, promises great contrasts in styles and aesthetics. Read our Interview with cello soloist Sabina Sandvoss here. Info here.
Harbourfront Centre: Summer Music in the Garden: Labyrinth Ensemble — Acalypha
Sunday, July 17, 4 p.m.
Toronto Music Garden, free
With a late summer Sunday afternoon breeze by the lake, join the Labyrinth Ensemble as they bring brilliant and varied colours of modal music. Unlike standardised 12-tone diatonic harmony of the bulk of classical western music, the modal tradition where things are a little close, or far, creates quite different dynamics and interactions between the pitches. Labyrinth Ensemble will feature a unique set of instruments, from plucked strings — gayageum and tar — and an ancient drum, the tombak, to familiar saxophone, clarinet and bass, to illustrate the nuances of the modal world — a gentle invitation to the world that has inspired so many beloved classical works and beyond. Info here.
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