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Toronto Music Garden Free Concert Schedule :: The popular Summer Music in the Garden series returns to the Toronto Music Garden with a
new season of free classical music and dance all summer long! Summer Music in the Garden showcases an eclectic array of music and dance performances that complement the beauty and calm of the Toronto Music Garden, and
the music of composer Johann Sebastian Bach that inspired it.
From June 29 to September 14, Summer Music in the Garden presents 20 free outdoor concerts and dance performances with over 90 performers over the
course of the summer, taking place on Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. and on most Sundays at 4 p.m.
The popular free guided garden tours led by volunteers from the Toronto Botanical Garden return for another
season, taking place on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. from June 4 to September 24, and on Thursdays before every concert at 5:30 p.m. from July 3 to September 11. Self-guided audio tours are also available for a nominal fee.
Admission to the park and all its programming is free.
SUMMER MUSIC IN THE GARDEN SCHEDULE
All concerts are approximately one hour long and take place weather permitting. Concerts are cancelled for inclement or rainy weather.
Sunday, June 29 at 4 p.m.
CelloFest
In a Toronto Music Garden tradition, four of
Toronto's finest cellists perform music from Bach to Zappa. Ensemble director Paul Widner is joined by Peter Cosbey, Alastair Eng and Garrett Knecht.
Thursday, July 3 at 7 p.m.
Fanfares by the Lake
You may know them from Tafelmusik,
but tonight they are The Queen's (Quay) Trumpeters: John Thiessen, Norman Engel and Andras Molnar and baroque timpanist Edward Reifel. Performing on an array of period instruments, they take us on a glittering tour,
from the renaissance courts of England to the great cathedrals of Venice and onwards to the present.
Sunday July 6 at 4 p.m.
Dancing Drums of Korea
Samulnori Canada celebrates nature's rhythms with high-energy, traditional Korean drumming. With guests
Han-Soo Jung, p'iri (bamboo reed flute) and So-Sun Suh, hae-geum (Korean fiddle).
Thursday, July 10 at 7 p.m.
The Secret of the Good Life: The Chaconne's Dance to Fame
Violinist Geneviève Gilardeau, Lucas Harris (lute, theorbo, baroque guitar) and
cellist Kate Bennett Haynes take us on a toe-tapping journey, on period instruments, through the evolution of the chaconne: from its origins as an illicit dance in 16th century Mexico through to its apotheosis as a
virtuoso variation form in the High Baroque. Find out why Miguel de Cervantes claimed "The secret of the good life is hidden in the dance of the chaconne."
Sunday. July 13 at 4 p.m.
Down by the Sally Gardens: Songs of Summer, Nature, Love and Loss
Visit a sidewalk café in Paris, climb a mountain with a Japanese Empress, fish for squid off the coast of Newfoundland. Soprano Meredith Hall and
guitarist Bernard Farley present an eclectic and beguiling program of folk, classical and popular songs. With works by Schubert, Ned Rorem, Jayme Ovalle, Robert Burns, Yoshinao Nakada, Kozaburo Hirai, and Bernard Farley.
Thursday July 17 at 7 p.m.
The Sunniest of All Keys
The Windermere String Quartet presents two takes on the key of C Major: Haydn's Quartet Op. 20 No. 2 (the "Sun" Quartets) and Mozart's Dissonance Quartet, K. 465. Performed on
period instruments by Rona Goldensher and Geneviève Gilardeau (violins), Anthony Rapoport (viola), and Laura Jones (cello).
Sunday July 20 at 4 p.m.
Strong Winds and Occasional Thunder
NOT a weather forecast! The superb brass and percussion sections of
the National Youth Orchestra of Canada present a delightful, varied program that showcases Canada's outstanding young artists.
Thursday July 24 at 7 p.m.
Percussion in a Suitcase
Find out what happens when a percussionist-the spectacular Aiyun Huang of
Montreal-creates a program for which all the instruments fit into her suitcase. Music by Matthew Burtner, Alvin Lucier, Javier Alvarez, Roberto Sierra, Georges Aperghis, and John Adams.
Sunday, July 27 at 4 p.m.
Blowing/Bowing in the Wind
Folia returns with
a concert featuring two of the most unusual and beloved instruments of the 17th century-the cornetto, once considered the instrument closest to the human voice, and the dulcian, ancestor of the bassoon. Kiri Tollaksen
(Ann Arbor, Michigan), North America's foremost cornettist, joins Toronto's own dulcian virtuoso, Dominic Teresi. Baroque violinist Linda Melsted and harpsichordist Borys Medicky complete the dream team for this
programme of glorious music from 17th century Italy and Germany. Presented with the generous support of the Toronto Early Music Centre.
Thursday July 31 at 7 p.m.
Radical Masters: Unconventional Works by Mozart, Bartok and Beethoven
The charismatic Kirby String Quartet performs works that push the boundaries of their day: Bartok's Quartet No. 3, Beethoven's Quartet Op.135, and
selections from Mozart's sublime Quartet in E flat Major, K.428. Performed by Aisslinn Nosky and Julia Wedman (violins), Max Mandel (viola), and Carina Reeves (cello).
Thursday, August 7 at 7 p.m.
Persian Music for a Summer Night
Pirouz Yousefian and
Farzad Yousefian return with more spellbinding traditional and original music on the santur-a Persian hammer dulcimer of ancient origin-and Middle Eastern percussion.
Sunday August 10 at 4 p.m.
Orfea
In this touching adaptation for the whole family
of the ancient Orfeo myth, a little girl shoulders her golden harp and journeys to the Underworld to bring her beloved grandfather back to life. Along the way we hear music from 400 years of opera, including Monteverdi,
Mozart and Offenbach. Written by Greg Robic and baritone Lawrence Cotton. Performed by Cotton, Brooke Dufton (soprano), Rachad Feizoullaev (keyboard), and Colin Maier (woodwinds).
Thursday, August 14 at 7 p.m.
Cecilia String Quartet
The globe-trotting
Cecilias, now based in San Diego, return to perform Schumann's passionate yet intimate Quartet No. 3, and give the world premiere of a quartet written for them by Liam Wade. Violinists Sarah Nematallah and Min-Jeong
Koh, violist Caitlin Boyle, and cellist Rebecca Wenham.
Sunday August 17 at 4 p.m.
Five Gods, Two Kings and the Frog Princess
inDANCE, under artistic director Hari Krishnan, presents the world premiere of an exciting work for 10 dancers and six
musicians that fuses traditional and contemporary approaches to Bharatanatyam dance. Commissioned by Harbourfront Centre for the Toronto Music Garden.
Thursday, August 21 at 7 p.m.
Evening Ragas in the Garden
Aruna Narayan returns
with her eloquent and virtuosic interpretations of North India ragas, performed on the 40-string sarangi with Vineet Vyas, tabla, and Akshay Kalle, tanpura.
Sunday, August 24 at 4 p.m.
A Tale of Two Lutes
Two musical cousins-the European
lute and the Chinese pipa-meet and converse as the renowned baroque lutenist Lucas Harris and pipa virtuosa Wen Zhao bring their respective traditions together.
Thursday, August 28 at 7 p.m.
Mizu to Ki no Uta (Voices of Wood and Water)
Nagata
Shachu taiko ensemble (formerly known as Kiyoshi Nagata Ensemble) drum in the change of season with exuberant music rooted in ancient spiritual practices, revitalized with a contemporary vision. With special guest
dancer-choreographer Keiko Kitano.
Thursday, September 4 at 7 p.m.
Bach at Dusk
Winona Zelenka performs the piece that inspired the Toronto Music Garden: Bach's Suite No. 1 in G Major for unaccompanied cello. Note: Half-hour concert due to
early sunset.
Thursday, September 11 at 7 p.m.
Soul/Saule-Mates: Reflections under the willow tree
On a date that invites reflection, cellist Shauna Rolston performs Soulmate for solo cello, by Chan Ka Nin;
choreographer-dancer Keiko Kitano and composer-musician Aki Takahashi present the world premiere of Yanagi: Spirit of the Willow Tree-a piece inspired by Japanese tales of ghosts and willow trees (saule, in French).
Yanagi is commissioned by Harbourfront Centre for performance beneath the Toronto Music Garden's weeping willow. Note: Half-hour concert due to early sunset.
Sunday, September 14 at 4 p.m.
Your Eyes Have Their Silence
The acclaimed Rosetta
String Trio bring the season to a magnificent close with Schubert and Mozart, music from the Renaissance, and Your Eyes Have Their Silence, a piece written for them by contemporary U.S. composer Christopher Hossfeld.
Performed by Abigail Karr (violin), Sarah Darling (viola), and Kate Bennett Haynes (cello).
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