TOGETHER we...
CREATE ...PRODUCE
We create new music through programs in Composition, Jazz, Film/Media and Large Ensembles. We create new music through our composer-in-residence programs, our Electronic Music Studio and our Contemporary Music Ensemble. And we celebrate new music annually through our New Music Festival with its Distinguished Visitor and our Karen Kieser Composition Prize.
We produce new music through our Opera program. New stagings of classic and contemporary operas that train professional singers, instrumentalists, stage directors, repetiteurs, and coaches. And we celebrate annually with a new fully staged, orchestrated opera on an original libretto through U of T Opera and our Opera Student Composer Collective.
PLAY...PERFORM
Many languages make reference to the ludic qualities of music making: play in English, jouer en français, spielen auf Deutsch.
Do you play an instrument? Are you interested in performing at the highest level?
Our goal is to give you the best foundational technical and finest advanced artistic training possible through private studio teaching with many of Toronto’s top professional teachers and players. While with us, you will play in well-coached U of T chamber music ensembles (strings, winds, brass, percussion, piano, guitar, contemporary music, Klezmer) and perform in U of T’s renowned large ensembles (opera, orchestra, winds, and choirs).
And you can also get professional playing experience through our Music Booking Office.
TEACH...LEARN
Schoenberg introduced his 1911 Theory of Harmony text with the words “I have learned this book from my students.”
At U of T Music we believe that the Teaching / Learning relationship is a powerful dialogue where enthusiasm meets experience and together we act in the service of musical creation, expression, and understanding.
We love teaching and we’re still learning.
Our award-winning professors, lecturers, and professionals work with undergraduates from day one. Our graduate students are mentored by outstanding professionals in their fields.
And we teach the next generation of great teachers through our Education and Pedagogy programs.
THINK...DO
One of the added-values of being at a great music school inside a great university is the level of thinking that goes on.
Our academic programs in music—from Theory and Composition, to History and Culture, along with your training in Education and Performance—develop your critical thinking abilities to an exceptional level.
So that you not only do music, you think music.
Your undergraduate music degree program also includes opportunities to take a range of courses in Arts & Science or other subject areas from the greater U of T and its distinctive College system. And you have access to a Music Library that ranks as one of the best in the world.
As you build your fluency and expertise relation between Think and Do, between thought and action becomes seamless.
SPACE
Established in 1918, UofT Music is Canada’s leading institution for higher education in music and is a growing global presence in musical training, interdisciplinary research, and digital media content development.
UofT Music is committed to preparing our students for successful careers in and beyond music in a swiftly changing global environment. We embrace the global challenges of building culturally informed, healthy, sustainable societies, and preparing global citizens for leadership roles.
Space for UofT Music includes 3 sites:
(1) The Edward Johnson Building (EJB) (1964) with its MacMillan Theatre (MT 815 seats) and Walter Hall (WH 490 seats) performance spaces, large ensemble rehearsal rooms, classrooms, and studio offices, and its renowned Music Library (1990 additional wing).
(2) The Faculty of Music South (90W), a satellite building at 90 Wellesley, a converted dormitory built in 1955, used by Music since 2007 and partially renovated in 2011 for Jazz, graduate student offices, and other Performance functions.
(3) The transformative new major New Building Project now in the planning stages for 90 Queen’s Park (90QP) in partnership with other university and external stakeholders, which will connect the EJB directly to the 90QP facility and will include a New Recital Hall for Music as well as other related spaces for performance, conferences, and special events.
Concert Halls
MacMillan Theatre
With one of Toronto's largest stages, an orchestra pit for 50 musicians, and a full fly-tower, UofT Music's MacMillan Theatre is the city's busiest stage.
The MacMillan Theatre seats 815 people and has complete lighting and recording facilities.
Designed to present operas, orchestral works, and recitals, MacMillan Theatre is ideal for guest productions, conventions, filming, and private events.
For rental information please contact our Concert Office Manager, Mary Ann Griffin or Fred Perruzza, Director of Theatre Operations.
MacMillan Theatre General and Technical Information
Seating Plan
Walter Hall
Named for Arnold Walter, Dean of UofT Music (1952-1968), with 490 seats, Walter Hall is Toronto's finest small auditorium. Designed for chamber music and solo recitals, Walter Hall also has a Casavant Organ.
The intimacy of Walter Hall makes it an ideal venue for your event. To make rental arrangements please contact our Concert Office Manager, Mary Ann Griffin our Building Manager Joe Lesniak.
Walter Hall General and Technical Information
Seating Plan
New Recital Hall
Exciting news - we are building a new recital hall located in a new facilty at 90 Queen's Park Crescent. If you are interested in a naming opportunity for our new hall at 90QP, please contact Don McLean, Dean of the Faculty of Music.
OUR MUSIC
Our season is well underway and there is so much to choose from.
Visit our online calendar often for concerts and events and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exciting premieres, livestreams and performances from our archives.
ENSEMBLES
Resident & Visiting Ensembles
U of T Music is the privileged host of many Resident & Visiting Ensembles. Hosting ensembles is another way we provide rich experiences for our community. The ensembles bring scholarship, performance, and mentorship to our stages and classrooms...we bring the opportunity to work with students.
Our partnerships extend to all of the major performing ensembles and arts organizations in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Proximity to great sounds and organizations is one of the best features of our location in Toronto—a world city for music.