Koerner Hall Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary And 2024-25 Royal Conservatory Season

Koerner Hall celebrates its 15th anniversary with the 2024-25 concert season at The Royal Conservatory Of Music.

Literary events

The 2024-25 season begins with a literary event – Tanya Talaga: The Knowing on September 23. Award-winning and bestselling Anishinaabe author Talaga launches her new book, The Knowing, in a special Koerner Hall event co-presented with RamsayTalks. Deeply personal and meticulously researched, the book is a seminal unravelling of the centuries-long oppression of Indigenous People that continues to reverberate in these communities today. Talaga retells the history of Canada as only she can – through an Indigenous lens, beginning with the life of her great-great grandmother Annie Carpenter and her family as they experienced decades of government – and Church – sanctioned enfranchisement and genocide. Ms. Talaga will discuss her book and participate in an interview with Mark Sakamoto, author of Forgiveness: A Gift from My Grandparents.

Also in collaboration with RamsayTalks, the Conservatory is thrilled to add another event to the season on October 15 – MSNBC's journalist Ali Velshi in conversation. Velshi is an award-winning journalist, host of “Velshi,” Chief Correspondent for MSNBC, and a weekly economics contributor to NPR's “Here And Now.” He has covered multiple U.S. Midterm and Presidential elections and significant news stories around the globe, including extensive reporting from Ukraine and across Central and Eastern Europe during the Russian invasion, the Syrian refugee crisis from Turkey and Jordan, the Iran Nuclear Deal in Tehran, the Greek debt crisis in Athens, and the funeral of Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Velshi will be interviewed about his recent book Small Acts of Courage, which chronicles his family's journey from apartheid South Africa to Uganda to Toronto, and will discuss the US election, the candidates, and the future of democracy from an insider point of view but also from a Canadian angle.

Both authors will also answer questions from the audience. Limited quantities of premium tickets will include exclusive pre-event receptions with the authors and signed copies of The Knowing and Small Acts of Courage, on the respective evenings, along with a complimentary drink. All other tickets include a copy of either The Knowing or Small Acts of Courage.

Special Event

To commemorate the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, Indigenous artists will gather to reflect, pay respect, and to give hope to survivors of residential schools on October 1. The evening, curated by Denise Bolduc, will be hosted by CBC's Falen Johnson and will include healing laughter, storytellers, testimony, traditional drum and dance, performances by the Manitou Mkwa Singers, Glenn Gould School soprano Emma Pennell accompanied by GGS faculty pianist David Eliakis, and others. The headliner of the event will be the internationally celebrated Inuit singer Tanya Tagaq performing Qiksaaktuq (Inuktitut word for grief) with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra conducted by Jennifer Tung. Written by Tagaq, Christine Duncan, and Jean Martin, the piece is dedicated to missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls, and those who grieve for them. The evening also includes an Indigenous marketplace set up in the lobby of Koerner Hall by the Native Canadian Centre and is part of Culture Days.

Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage  

Portugal's reigning fado queen Mariza returns on October 26 for her third spell-binding performance. With her vibrant, soulful voice and graceful, commanding presence, she is the undisputed queen of the Portuguese art form, fado. No other Portuguese artist since Amália Rodrigues has built an international career of such breadth, accumulating success after success on the most prestigious world stages, enthusiastic references from the most demanding music critics, and an endless succession of international awards and distinctions. As The Telegraph put it, “Mariza is a dazzling, captivating force to behold.”

TD Jazz Concerts

The legendary pianist and composer Monty Alexander performs music from his latest release D-Day to celebrate his 80th birthday on October 19. In 2022, Alexander was awarded the national honour of the Order of Jamaica for "Sterling Contributions to the Promotions of Jamaican Music and the Jazz Genre Interpretations Globally.” Recognized as one of the greatest living jazz pianists, he is an American classic, touring the world relentlessly and delighting a global audience. He is a perennial favourite at the Montreux Jazz Festival where he has appeared 23 times since 1976. His spirited conception is informed by endless melody-making, effervescent grooves, sophisticated voicings, a romantic spirit, and a consistent predisposition to build up the heat and kick up a storm. Opening the evening will be Juno Award nominee Jay Douglas, who has performed at various festivals worldwide, including Rastafest Festival in Toronto and the 4 Seasons Reggae Cruise in Atlanta, Georgia. He has worked with international reggae stars such as Beres Hammond, Freddie McGregor, Marcia Griffiths, Luciano, Ken Boothe, Leroy Sibbles, Fab5 Band, General Tree, Jesse “Dub Matix” King, Ziggy Marley, Lyn Tait, and the great Ernest Ranglin.

Classical Music

Piano Recitals

Emanuel Ax, one of the most respected pianists of all time returns to Koerner Hall  on October 6 for his 75th birthday to perform Schoenberg and Beethoven, including the “Moonlight” and “Appassionata” Sonatas. With a career spanning over four decades, Ax has received numerous accolades, including multiple Grammy Awards and international recognition for his exceptional interpretations of classical masterpieces. “Ax is an extremely satisfying pianist; he is at home in a wide variety of music and his pianism is always thoughtful, lyrical, lustrous,” said The Washington Post.

Vocal Concerts

Les Violons du Roy, conducted by Music Director Jonathan Cohen, with soprano Karina Gauvin and contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, appear on October 27 with an all-George Frideric Handel Program titled Streams of Pleasure after the album Gauvin and Lemieux recorded together in 2011. All the music of the program was chosen from six of the greatest Handel oratorios. Recognized for her work in the Baroque repertoire, Gauvin sings Bach, Mahler, Britten, and the music of the 20th and 21st centuries with equal success with the world's leading symphony orchestras and opera houses. Lemieux is acclaimed as a peerless recital artist with an exceptional vocal palette having a special talent for French and Russian songs, as well as German lieder, and her international career has led her to the world's most famous stages. Les Violons du Roy takes its name from the celebrated court orchestra of the French kings. It was founded in 1984 by Bernard Labadie, now founding conductor, and continues under Cohen to explore the nearly boundless repertoire of music for chamber orchestra in performances matched as closely as possible to the period of each work's composition.

RCO Concerts

On October 10, Royal Conservatory Orchestra (RCO), fresh off their triumphant concert at Carnegie Hall,  is conducted by Tania Miller in a program of Berlioz's Le carnaval romain and Sibelius's Symphony No. 1. Madison Capital Times stated: “Wonderful control over the orchestra as if she carried a quiver of gestures that matched perfectly the mood of each musical section … While the sound of the orchestra was entertaining enough, watching Miller brought a new dimension to the performance.” The evening will also include violinist Isabella Perron, BMus '24 (GGS), a Grand Prize winner of The Robert W. and G Ann Corcoran Concerto

Competition, performing Brahms's Violin Concerto in D Major. Part of the Temerty Orchestral Program at The Glenn Gould School, the RCO is widely regarded as an outstanding ensemble and one of the best training orchestras in North America. It consists of instrumental students in the undergraduate and graduate programs of The Glenn Gould School. Graduates of the RCO have joined the ranks of the greatest orchestras in the world.

Free Concert

The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists presents the first Taylor Academy Showcase Concert on October 19, featuring leading young classical musicians in Canada aged 8-18. 

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