Soundstreams Unveils 2026/27 TD ENCOUNTERS Season Featuring a Four-Concert Series

Soundstreams has revealed its 2026/27 TD Encounters season, a free, four-concert series that invites audiences to experience contemporary music up close through adventurous performances, world premiere works from composer André Ristic and choreographer Heidi Strauss, and conversations with some of Canada's-and the world's-most compelling artists. Presented in intimate venues across Toronto, this year's series features the acclaimed Kairos Percussion Quartet, Austrian violinist Judith Fliedl, Toronto violinist Roan Ma, ondes Martenot virtuoso Daniel Áñez, composer James O'Callaghan, a multidisciplinary collaboration between composer Alison Yun-Fei Jiang and visual artist Margie Kelk, and more. Blending innovative music with audience discussion, TD Encounters offers a rare opportunity to explore the creative process behind today's most exciting new works while engaging directly with the artists who bring them to life. Free registration is open now for the first three concerts: visit Soundstreams.ca for more details.

2026/27 SOUNDSTREAMS TD ENCOUNTERS PROGRAM

NAGOYA MARIMBAS

Featuring the Kairos Percussion Quartet
September 29, 2026 | 7:30 p.m.
Hugh's Room (296 Broadview Ave, Toronto, ON)

The opening Encounters of the season compliments the first mainstage show of the season (Celebrating Steve Reich at 90) by featuring Reich's 'Mallet Quartet' (originally co-commissioned by Soundstreams) and 'Nagoya Marimbas.' The program also includes Ann Southam's 'Glass House #5', and 'VV' by Juri Seo. 'Nagoya Marimbas' is a fast-paced percussion duet frequently paired with contemporary ballet and modern choreography, and for this Encounters, renowned choreographer Heidi Strauss has crafted a world premiere solo dance piece for contemporary dance artist Aerin Cho that echoes the intricate specificity of the piece. This immersive Encounters will be performed in the round.

Founded in 2022, the Kairos Percussion Quartet (Bevis Ng, Nikki Huang, Thomas Li, and Andrew Busch) is an emerging performing arts ensemble based in Toronto, known for new music and unorthodox concert programming.

Registration link here.

VIOLINS UNBOUND

World premiere for two violins by André Ristic
November 2, 2026 | 7:30 p.m.
Hugh's Room (296 Broadview Ave, Toronto, ON)

Few instruments can match the violin's extraordinary combination of brilliance, agility, and expressive power. This Encounters event will showcase all that the violin can offer, featuring violinists Judith Fliedl, visiting from Austria on a Canadian tour, and Toronto-based violinist Roan Ma, performing a world premiere for violin duet by André Ristic, commissioned by Soundstreams. The program will also include works by John Beckwith, Chris Paul Harman, Parisa Sabet, and Ana Sokolović. A discussion and audience Q&A with Fliedl and Ma will follow the performance.

Registration link here.

ORISON

November 30, 2026 | 7:30 p.m.
Hugh's Room (296 Broadview Ave, Toronto, ON)

Orison (prayer) is a musical collaboration from musician Daniel Áñez and composer James O'Callaghan, connecting science fiction imagery with spirituality and the idea of 'alien-ness' in all of its senses: social, cultural, psychological, extra-terrestrial. The work centres the unique early electronic instrument, the ondes Martenot, as a jumping-off point to interact with synthesized soundscapes, field recordings, techno, poetic text, and documentary-like spoken confessionals.

Featuring Ánez on the incredibly evocative ondes Martenot, with O'Callaghan on electronics, this Encounters event presents the current musical stage in the development of a new music theatre work. Audiences will experience fragments, improvisatory excerpts, and other material from this long-term work in progress, offering a rare opportunity to engage with the creative process as the piece continues to evolve. A discussion and audience Q&A with Ánez and O'Callaghan will follow the performance.

Registration link here.

HUA

April 13, 2027 | 7:30 p.m.
Paradise Theatre (1006c Bloor St W, Toronto, ON)

The first Encounters to take place in the historic and gloriously restored Paradise Theatre, Hua (畫,meaning to draw or to paint) is an immersive audiovisual collaboration between visual artist Margie Kelk and composer Alison Yun-Fei Jiang. Across eight interconnected movements, Jiang's surround-sound electroacoustic music responds to Kelk's luminous abstract paintings displayed on screen. In this Encounters, visual and sonic landscapes intertwine to form a richly layered journey through memory, nature, identity, migration, and transformation. Hua invites audiences into a multisensory world where cultures, perspectives, and artistic disciplines converge in a deeply resonant shared experience. An artist discussion and audience Q&A with Yun-Fei Jiang and Kelk will follow the performance.

Registration will be made available closer to the show.

Single tickets are also on sale for the Soundstreams 2026/27 season, including Celebrating Steve Reich at 90 on October 6. Visit Soundstreams.ca for more details.

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