An opera company, a baroque orchestra, and Glenn Gould's alma mater

Toronto's Classical Music Scene Beyond the TSO

A purpose-built opera house, one of the world's most respected period-instrument orchestras, and the conservatory that trained Glenn Gould — Toronto's classical music scene runs well past the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

A young Glenn Gould at the piano with his teacher Alberto Guerrero — Glenn Gould and Alberto Guerrero — Library and Archives Canada, public domain

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is only one piece of the city's classical music institutions. Three others run just as deep.

The Canadian Opera Company

Founded in 1950 by conductor Nicholas Goldschmidt and director Herman Geiger-Torel, the Canadian Opera Company grew out of the University of Toronto's opera school. It moved into its own purpose-built home, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, in 2006 — Canada's first purpose-built opera house, internationally regarded for its acoustics.

Tafelmusik's baroque revival

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra started in 1979 as a four-member chamber collective, running its first season on roughly an $11,000 budget across six concerts. Violinist Jeanne Lamon joined in 1980 and became music director in 1981, a post she held for 33 years, building Tafelmusik into one of the world's most respected period-instrument ensembles, now performing 50-plus concerts a season and touring internationally.

The Royal Conservatory and Glenn Gould

The Royal Conservatory of Music was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as the Toronto Conservatory of Music, opening in 1887 as the first institution of its kind in Canada. Among its most famous alumni is Glenn Gould, born in Toronto in 1932, who studied piano there under teacher Alberto Guerrero. The conservatory's professional performance division, established in 1987, was renamed the Glenn Gould School in his honour a decade later. Other Conservatory-trained musicians include Oscar Peterson, David Foster and Diana Krall — a reminder of how much of Toronto's musical output, classical and otherwise, runs back through one institution.

Sources

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