First directed by Timothy McGee, original members included the countertenor Gary Crighton, Frank Nakashima (1972–4), tenor David Walker, baritone David Klausner. As with all vocal and instrumental ensembles, several personnel changes occurred in the 1970s, including a succession of sopranos: Katharine Pimenoff (1974–5), Penelope Tibbles (1976–7), and Emily Van Evera (1977–9). The membership from 1979 to 1983 continued with Crighton, Klausner, the instrumentalist Alison Mackay, soprano Jean Edwards, and tenor David Fallis. From 1987 to 1991 members were Klausner, Mackay, Fallis, lutenist Terry McKenna.
The membership from 1992 to 1998 consisted of Fallis, McKenna, Pudwell, soprano Meredith Hall, bass John Pepper, recorder/flutist Alison Melville, and tenor/keyboardist Paul Jenkins. By 2000 the lineup featured Pepper, Fallis, McKenna, Pudwell, Melville, and Jenkins. In 2002, members were Pepper, Jenkins, Fallis, McKenna, Pudwell, Melville, Hill, and the instrumentalist Grossman, with the addition of soprano Michele DeBoer. The Toronto Consort has collaborated with numerous Canadian and international artists. These have included guest lutenists Paul O’Dette, Sylvain Bergeron, John Edwards, and David Miller; viola da gamba Felix Deak; theorbist Stephen Stubbs; harpsichordists the late Colin Tilney and Alexander Weimann; harpist Maxine Eilander; recorder player Colin Savage; violinists David Greenberg and Julie Wedman; dancers Elaine Biagi Turner, Christopher Carley, Beth Anne Cole, and Jessica Runge; the Ken Pierce Baroque Dance Company; and choreographers Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Zingg of Opera Atelier. Guest singers have included countertenor Stratton Bull; tenors Paul Agnew, Charles Daniels, William Hite, and Kevin Skelton; mezzo-sopranos Christine Abraham, Rebecca Claborn; and sopranos Julianne Baird, Suzie LeBlanc, Ann Monoyios, special return appearances by soprano Meredith Hall and Consort Scholar Martin Gomes.
Guest narrators have included storyteller Susan Kennedy, actors Colm Feore and Karen Woolridge, dancer and actor Veronica Tennant, and commedia dell’arte artist Jean-François Gagnon. The consort’s guest ensembles have included The Gents, the New World Consort, the Ensemble Project Ars Nova, Les Sonneurs, Ensemble Anonymus, La Nef, Piffaro, The King’s Noyse, the Orlando Consort, The Dufay Collective, Puirt a Baroque, and the Ensemble Clément Janequin. Additional singers and musicians (including members of Tafelmusik) have joined the consort for its in-concert performances of early operas. The consort has performed with the Montreal Symphony and the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra. Other guest performers of note include Suba Sankaran and the Sampradaya Dance Group. The Marco Polo Project has drawn several guest artists, including a vocal trio from the Republic of Georgia and musicians performing on traditional Chinese instruments.
In 1974 Toronto Consort members became the nucleus of the annual summer Early Music Workshop at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough College. Walter Buczynski’s Consortium for four players (1975), Klein’s Musica Antiqua, and Ben McPeek’s My Lute and I (1978) were written for the consort. In 1986 the group commissioned John Beckwith’s Les Premiers Hivernements for the International Year of Canadian Music. The consort worked with composers David Keane, Hope Lee, and David Eagle in 1988 to createLumina, a multi‑media exploration of the medieval theme of light, which premiered at Harbourfront. In 1996, the consort created a commedia dell’arte in honour of Orlando di Lasso, and in 1997 it performed on the soundtrack of Canadian director Atom Egoyan’s award‑winning film, The Sweet Hereafter. In 2001 the ensemble premiered a multi‑media work by Christos Hatzis. In June 2009, with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company, the Toronto Consort presented the world premiere of The Children’s Crusade by R. Murray Schafer which was co‑commissioned and co‑produced by Soundstreams Canada and the Luminato Festival. In 2011, with Norway’s Trio Mediæval the consort performed the world premiere of James Rolfe’s Breathe, commissioned by Soundstreams.
In 2010 Toronto Consort members performed at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in the Essential Cinema Concert series. The musicians presented an adapted version of Richard Einhorn’s 1994 oratorio Voices of Light, accompanying screenings of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc. Consort members were involved in the selection, performance, and recording of music for hit television series The Tudors and The Borgias; the consort’s artistic director, David Fallis, was Historical Music Producer for both series. David Fallis stepped back from the Consort in 2017, continuing to lead the ensemble until his full retirement in 2019. During the pandemic, performances by DeBoer, Pudwell, Knight, Jenkins, Pepper, Grossman and Melville provided online interpretations of creative programs. Soon after, in 2022–2023, John Pepper retired followed by Laura Pudwell. In May 2024, Alison Melville stepped down after her long and distinguished tenure, electing not to continue to lead the ensemble. In early September of 2024, DeBoer, Grossman, Jenkins and Hill retired as the year‑long search for an Artistic Director continued. Esteban La Rotta, Martin Gomes and Felix Deak continued with the Toronto Consort during this period.
Esteban La Rotta, Martin Gomes and Felix Deak led the Toronto Consort in the next chapter with a new season beginning in November 2024 including a special appearance by Dame Emma Kirkby, the famed soprano, as the first‑ever Honorary Patron and the much admired Daniel Taylor, O.C. at her side as the new General and Artistic Director. This concert featured a remarkable group of young artists side by side with more seasoned leading artists in the field of early music, honouring the ensemble’s tradition of providing encouragement and support to the next generation.
December 2024 welcomed Toronto Consort Artist Esteban La Rotta and an international cast of artists in a newly curated concert returning to the theme of ‘Navidad’. January 2025’s inspired ‘Incarnation’ marked the first collaboration in more than a decade between the Toronto Consort and the University of Toronto. The stunning group ‘Sequentia’ followed with a mesmerizing performance. On April 13, 2025, with much sadness we announced the passing of our longtime friend Paul Jenkins. We express our deep appreciation for his dedication not only to the Toronto Consort but to our extended and caring community. We send our sincere sympathy to his family here. The 2025–2026 season entitled ‘To see the stars again’ promises to be unforgettable with starry appearances planned by Les Arts Florissants and Paul Agnew, Dame Emma Kirkby, Janelle Lucyk, Zia Tabassian, Charles Daniels and friends joining the Toronto Consort. Repertoire will include an evening of chant by Hildegard Von Bingen and composers Gesualdo, Dowland, Morley, Pärt, Balfour, Larkin with the World Premiere live performance of a ‘Suite from the Sweet Hereafter’ by Academy Award Winner Mychael Danna.