Founded in 1972, The Toronto Consort has become internationally recognized for its excellence in the performance of medieval, Renaissance and early Baroque music. Since the group’s inception, its mission has been to celebrate and reinvent what early music can be. With a global vision to see a world enriched by societally relevant Early Music experiences, under the Patronage of Dame Emma Kirkby and General and Artistic Director, Daniel Taylor, O.C., the group places special emphasis on collaboration, recognizing there is strength in diverse artistic perspectives. This approach emboldens the Toronto Consort’s ability to both respect and reconcile the rich variety of relationships we have with music of the past. Supported by a diverse ensemble of artists, the group’s members are amongst Canada’s most exciting early music specialists, including both singers and instrumentalists on early plucked and bowed strings, flutes, keyboards, and percussion.
The Toronto Consort specializes in rarely heard repertoire from roughly 1100 AD to today, while exploring the ways in which Renaissance and Medieval music has influenced the Baroque period and beyond. Core to its mission statement, the Consort is excited to expand its collaborative and educational practices. Forming a direct partnership with the Historical Performance department at the University of Toronto, the Consort looks forward to presenting works in collaboration with other artists, such as actors, dancers, visual and multi‑media artists, and guest specialists. The collaborative nature of this creative process will lead to diverse productions that routinely engage with student audiences as well as our varied modern audiences, from dedicated music‑history aficionados to occasional or first‑time patrons.
Historically, each year the Consort has presented a five‑production series in the beautiful acoustic of Jeanne Lamon Hall at Trinity‑St. Paul’s Centre, located in downtown Toronto’s Bloor Street Cultural Corridor. We are excited to continue to make music in this landmark city center and while our concert series structure may vary from season to season in the most beautiful ways, this enables the Consort to deliver a meaningful, individualized season, one that invites our audiences to come back year after year.
The Consort has toured regularly outside the Greater Toronto Area, having been to Europe and Great Britain, frequently across Canada, and into the United States.
The Toronto Consort offers free audience‑engagement activities, such as pre‑concert lectures, high school education concerts and learning workshops and is excited to expand its engagement practices.