15th Anniversary Concert Season Starts At The Royal Conservatory Of Music

“After three years of uncertainty, cancellations, and shutdowns, Koerner Hall celebrates its 15th season filled with superstars from classical, jazz, pop, and global music, including debuts from over 20 artists ranging from the German pianist Igor Levit to Sona Jobarteh, the first female griot kora player from The Gambia. Two internationally acclaimed orchestras led by legendary Maestros sit comfortably alongside artists from 33 different countries. Two thirds of the concerts feature Canadians and a third of them feature artists that celebrate the great diversity of our city. We are indebted to our subscribers and to our legion of donors who help us at every turn. I look forward to sharing many evenings together,” said Mervon Mehta, Executive Director of Performing Arts.

Indigenous artists gather to honour those affected by residential schools and offer hope for the future on September 29 in a Concert to Commemorate National Day of Truth & Reconciliation. Co-curated by Denise Bolduc and Mervon Mehta, the night is hosted by spoken word artist Zoey Roy and features singer/songwriter Julian Taylor. Cultural Knowledge Keepers Marie Gaudet and Jimmy Dick will offer an opening prayer and survival story respectively, and the evening also includes testimony by Emily Dick, child of a residential school survivor, traditional drum and dance by Isaiah Cada, a world premiere by Juno Award nominated composer Andrew Balfour, and special guest and Andrew McAnsh (trumpet).

Grammy Award-winning banjo superstar, sublime vocalist, and critics' darling, Rhiannon Giddens uses her art to excavate the past and reveal bold truths about our present. On May 8, 2023, she was awarded the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music for the opera Omar, which she co-wrote with Michael Abels (Get Out, Nope). Giddens shares the September 20 evening with critically acclaimed Nashville-based singer/songwriter Adia Victoria, whose 2021 release, A Southern Gothic, explored the relationship that many people, especially Black women, have with life in the South.

Hailed by NPR as “one of America's defining voices of freedom and peace,” Mavis Staples is the kind of once-in-a-generation artist whose impact on music and culture would be difficult to overstate. She is a civil rights icon, a multiple Grammy Award winner, a chart-topping soul/gospel/R&B pioneer with her family group The Staple Singers, a member of both the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a National Arts Awards Lifetime Achievement recipient, and a Kennedy Center honoree. She marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., performed at John F. Kennedy's inauguration, and sang in Barack Obama's White House. On October 28, she returns for her fourth Koerner Hall appearance.

Anoushka Shankar is a singular, genre-defying artist with a list of extraordinary accomplishments – masterful sitarist, film composer, impassioned activist, the youngest and first female recipient of a British House of Commons Shield, and the first Indian woman to be nominated for the Grammy Awards. On October 14, she brings a new quintet of musicians to North America, with whom she will perform music from her 2022 release, Between Us..., alongside thoroughly shaken-up, reinterpreted gems from her previous releases. The quintet comprises clarinetist Arun Ghosh, drummer-composer Sarathy Korwar, Carnatic percussionist Pirashanna Thevarajah, and bassist Tom Farmer, each of whom are startlingly talented solo artists in their own right. Premiered for the first time in India in December 2022, this quintet has been hailed as one of the best ensembles to have toured with Anoushka across her 28-year global performing career.

Performing with a Toronto all-star big band and strings Omar Kamal brings together a stunning repertoire of emotional hits for one enchanting evening of standards at Koerner Hall on October 20. The pure power of his voice can be felt in his eclectic catalogue and captivating performances, from Sinatra's croon and to Joe William's swing. Quincy Jones exclaimed: “This guy has got RANGE!” and CNN International called him “brilliant.” The evening is dedicated to the memory of Tony Bennett. 

On October 21,Juno Award-winning Hungarian-Canadian pianist and the RCM's inaugural Jazz Artist in Residence, Robi Botos, takes the audience on a trip through Roma-inspired jazz piano with the help of Joanna Majoko (vocals), Mike Downes (bass), Tim Ries (of The Rolling Stones on saxophone), and Larnell Lewis (of Snarky Puppy on drums). Protégé of Canadian jazz legend Oscar Peterson, Botos blends bebop, swing, and modern jazz with eastern European folk music and classical music. His dynamic live performances and distinctive sound have earned him praise from Branford Marsalis, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, and many more. Said the late organist, trumpeter, and pianist Joey DeFrancesco: “Robi is one of the most swingin', soulful, funky, world-class players I've ever heard, and he has a technique like you cannot believe.”

Singer, songwriter, and Barenaked Ladies co-founder Steven Page performs with his trio and Indigenous singer Tom Wilson on September 30. Page's distinctive and powerful voice is among the most instantly

recognizable in popular music. He is a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame with former bandmates, Barenaked Ladies, and together they were also presented with Honorary Fellowships by The Royal Conservatory in 2008. On his own, Page continues his artistic evolution with a diverse array of solo projects, including scores for the Stratford Festival, collaborations with Toronto's Art of Time Ensemble, solo album releases, and more. His touring ensemble, featuring Craig Northey (of the band Odds on guitar and vocals) and Kevin Fox (cello and vocals), are well known to viewers of his wildly popular virtual concert series Live From Home for their ability to accompany Page from remote locations. A five-time Juno Award-winning musician, best selling author, and visual artist, Tom Wilson has recorded songs with Sarah McLachlan, City and Colour, Jason Isbel, Colin James, Lucinda Williams, and Mavis Staples, to name a few. His band Junkhouse scored 11 top-ten hits in the 90s, and his iconic, Americana-fuelled Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, has performed on stages from the Grand Ole Opry to Massey Hall.

Award-winning pianist Mahani Teave is a pioneering artist and the only professional classical musician on her native Easter Island, whose debut album, Rapa Nui Odyssey, was number one on the Billboard charts and BBC Music Magazine noted her “natural pianism” and “magnificent artistry.” Believing in the profound, healing power of music, she has performed globally from the stages of the world's foremost concert halls on six continents to hospitals, schools, jails, and low-income areas. She is the winner of numerous international piano competitions and awards, including the APES Prize for best classical music performance in Chile, the Claudio Arrau International Piano Competition, the Merit Prize (arts) from Andrés Bello University, and the Cleveland Institute of Music's Concerto Competition. In her Koerner Hall debut on October 1, she performs Bach, Chopin, Liszt, and Rachmaninov, as well as two new Easter Island-inspired pieces, which will receive their Canadian premieres at this recital.

Grammy Award-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich has performed with every major orchestra in the US as well as an ever-growing number of major orchestras in the UK, Europe, and the Far East. His appearances as a soloist include guest engagements with the most celebrated ensembles in the world, such as the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo), Oslo Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra, among others. On October 13, he performs works by Beethoven,  Prokofiev, John Adams, Amy Beach, and Daniel Bernard Roumain, with one of the most sought-after soloists and chamber music collaborators of his generation, Orion Weiss, widely regarded as a “brilliant pianist” (The New York Times) with “powerful technique and exceptional insight” (The Washington Post). 

The Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer has been hailed as “the world's reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker and is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for its wide-ranging repertoire and dazzling virtuosity. Founded in San Francisco in 1978 by singer and musicologist Louis Botto, Chanticleer quickly took its place as one of the most prolific recording and touring ensembles in the world, selling over one million recordings and performing thousands of live concerts to audiences around the world. Their repertoire is rooted in the Renaissance and has continued to expand to include a wide range of classical, gospel, jazz, and popular music, and a deep commitment to the commissioning of new compositions and arrangements. Their Koerner Hall program on October 27 will include some of their greatest hits. 

RCM alumnus Earl Lee is a renowned Korean-Canadian cellist and conductor, winner of the 2022 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, and Music Director of the Ann Arbor Symphony. He also served as the resident conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 2015 to 2018 and he recently concluded his position as the associate conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony. On October 6, he leads the Royal Conservatory Orchestra in Ravel's Boléro and Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra, as well as Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 with violinist Kyung Ah Oh, winner of The Robert W. and G Ann Corcoran Concerto Competition and an alumna of the Temerty Orchestral Program at The Glenn Gould School.

An Evening of Schubert and Brahms on September 24 is a special concert dedicated to the memory of violinist, RCM alumnus, and co-founder of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Geoff Nuttall (1965-2022), featuring pianists James Anagnoson and Leslie Kinton, violinist Livia Sohn, cellist Thomas Wiebe, and Henry From, a student of The Ihnatowycz Piano Program and the recipient of The Ihnatowycz Prize in Piano.

The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists presents the first Taylor Academy Showcase Concert on October 21, featuring leading young classical musicians in Canada aged 8-18. 

The Royal Conservatory's 2023-24 season was made possible through the generous support of:

Major & Series Sponsors and Supporters: Power Corporation of Canada, TELUS, Weston Family Foundation, Robert W. & G. Ann Corcoran, a gift in honour of R.S. Williams & Sons Company Ltd., Michael Foulkes & Linda Brennan, Rebanks Family, Michael & Sonja Koerner, and an anonymous donor

Performance Sponsors and Supporters: b espresso, a gift in memory of Robert Calvin, Claudia Krawchuk, Eileen Mercier & Charles Hantho, Judith Gelber, Bill & Janet L'Heureux, a gift in memory of Gary Miles, Stephen Grant & Sandra Forbes, Kelly Meighen, and anonymous donors

Government Supporters: Government of Canada, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council

Season Start at The Royal Conservatory of Music

Rhiannon Giddens and Adia Victoria 

(Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage): Wednesday, September 20, 2023 at 8pm | Koerner Hall; from $65

An Evening of Schubert and Brahms

(Mazzoleni Masters): Sunday, September 24, 2023 at 7pm | Temerty Theatre; $25

Concert to Commemorate National Day of Truth & Reconciliation

(Special Event): Friday, September 29, 2023 at 8pm | Koerner Hall; from $40

Steven Page with Craig Northey, Kevin Fox, and special guest Tom Wilson

(Music Mix): Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 8pm | Koerner Hall; from $45

Mahani Teave

(Piano Concerts): Sunday, October 1, 2023 at 3pm | Koerner Hall; from $40

Earl Lee conducts the Royal Conservatory Orchestra

(Royal Conservatory Orchestra): Friday, October 6, 2023 at 8pm | Koerner Hall; from $25

Augustin Hadelich with Orion Weiss

(Chamber and String Concerts): Friday, October 13, 2023 at 8pm | Koerner Hall; from $45

Anoushka Shankar

(Global Music): Saturday, October 14, 2023 at 8pm | Koerner Hall; from $60

Omar Kamal

(Global Music): Friday, October 20, 2023 at 7:30pm | Koerner Hall; from $50

Taylor Academy Showcase Concert

(Taylor Academy Concerts): Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 4:30pm | Mazzoleni Concert Hall; free

Robi Botos and Friends

(Jazz Concerts): Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 8pm | Koerner Hall; from $45

Chanticleer

(Vocal Concerts): Friday, October 27, 2023 at 8pm | Koerner Hall; from $45

Mavis Staples

(Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage): Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 8pm | Koerner Hall; from $75

All concerts take place at The Royal Conservatory of Music

TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

A limited number of Rush Tickets are available starting 3 hours before all performances presented by The Royal Conservatory. Ticket prices will vary. Rush Tickets are limited to two tickets per person.  Seat locations are assigned at the discretion of the box office and locations may vary. Rush Tickets are available by phone only, on a first-come first-served basis.

Tickets and subscriptions are available online at www.rcmusic.com/performance, by calling 416.408.0208, or in person at the Weston Family Box Office.