The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (TSYO). The TSO's most recent music director was Peter Oundjian, from 2004 to 2018. Sir Andrew Davis, conductor laureate of the TSO, has most recently served as the orchestra's interim artistic director. Gustavo Gimeno is music director of the TSO, since the 2020–2021 season.
Arthur Charles Erickson was a Canadian architect and urban planner. He studied Engineering at the University of British Columbia and, in 1950, received his B.Arch. (Honours) from McGill University. He is known as Canada's most influential architect and was the only Canadian architect to win the American Institute of Architects AIA Gold Medal. When told of Erickson's award, Philip Johnson said, "Arthur Erickson is by far the greatest architect in Canada, and he may be the greatest on this continent."
Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to seat 3,500 patrons, but after extensive renovations in the 1940s, it now seats up to 2,765. It has an extensive history of concerts by artists of many musical genres which continues today.
Meridian Hall is a major performing arts venue in Toronto, Ontario, and it is the country's largest soft-seat theatre. The facility was constructed for the City of Toronto municipal government and is currently managed by TO Live, an arms-length agency and registered charity created by the city. Located at 1 Front Street East, the venue opened as the O'Keefe Centre on October 1, 1960. From 1996 to 2007, the building was known as the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts. From 2007 to 2019, it was known as the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. On September 15, 2019, it was re-branded as Meridian Hall.
As the Canadian province with the largest population, Ontario has a particularly prominent role in Canadian music. The provincial capital city of Toronto, Canada's largest municipality, is home to much of the English Canadian music industry and many individual musicians, and the most popular destination for musicians from other parts of Canada, besides French-Canadian musicians, looking to advance their careers. Toronto also supports Canadian music as the centre of English language media in Canada. Hamilton, Ottawa, Kingston and Guelph have also been important centres for Canadian music.
The Meridian Arts Centre is a performing arts venue in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened on October 16, 1993, as the North York Performing Arts Centre and was designed by Canadian architect Eberhard Zeidler for musicals, theatre productions and other performing arts. At opening, North York awarded management of the centre to Livent, which sold the naming rights in 1994 to Ford Motor Company of Canada. It became the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts. Later, it debranded as the Toronto Centre for the Arts.
The Princess of Wales Theatre is a 2,000-seat live theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on King Street West, in Toronto's downtown Entertainment District. The theatre's name has a triple meaning: it honours Diana, Princess of Wales, with whose consent the theatre was named; it links the building to its sister theatre, the Royal Alexandra, one block to the east, also named – with Royal assent – for a former Princess of Wales; and it recalls the Princess Theatre, Toronto's first "first-class legitimate" playhouse, that stood three blocks to the east until 1931.
St. Michael's Choir School is a semi-private Catholic choir school for boys from grades 3-12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is jointly operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto and Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, which manage the school's music curriculum, and the Toronto Catholic District School Board, which administers all other academic subjects, athletics programs, and extracurricular activities. The school is a member of the International Boys' Schools Coalition.
Hart House is a student activity centre at the University of Toronto. Established in 1919, it is one of the earliest North American student centres, being the location of student debates and conferences since its construction. Hart House was initiated and financed by Vincent Massey, an alumnus and benefactor of the university, and was named in honour of his grandfather, Hart Massey. The Collegiate Gothic-revival complex was the work of architect Henry Sproatt, who worked alongside decorator Alexander Scott Carter, and engineer Ernest Rolph, and subsequently designed the campanile at its southwestern corner, Soldiers' Tower. In 1957, the house hosted U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
The Carlu is an historic event space in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1930 and known as the eponymous "Eaton's Seventh Floor", the venue was restored and reopened in 2003, renamed for its original architect. The Carlu is one of Toronto's best examples of Art Moderne architecture. The venue is owned by restaurant firm Oliver & Bonacini.
Shore Tilbe Perkins+Will, formerly Shore Tilbe Irwin & Partners (STIP), is a Canadian architecture firm based in Toronto, Ontario. Since its founding as Shore and Moffat in 1945, and later as Shore Tilbe Irwin & Partners, the firm has completed numerous buildings, complexes and master plans across Canada, as well as at locations in the United States and Bermuda. From early educational and residential projects, the firm rose to prominence in the early 1950s, winning Governor General's Medals in Architecture and commissions from the government of Ontario for departmental buildings, and it went on to design prominent landmarks such as Purdy's Wharf in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the redesign of Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. The firm's scope today mostly encompasses community centres, libraries, pharmaceutical laboratories, offices and university teaching buildings, although the firm has also completed religious spaces, corporate interiors and public plazas.
The architecture of Toronto is an eclectic combination of architectural styles, ranging from 19th century Georgian architecture to 21st century postmodern architecture and beyond.
The Hamasa Shrine Temple Theater, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, is a historic theater located at 2320 8th Street in Meridian, Mississippi. The Temple Theater was constructed in the Moorish Revival style and began screening silent films in 1928. The theater features a Byzantine motif, a swirl of marble fountains, and large bronze chandeliers. At the time of its construction, the theater contained one of the largest stages in the United States, second only to the Roxy Theater in New York City. The theater houses one of only two Robert Morton theatre organs still installed in their original locations in the State of Mississippi – the other being installed at the Saenger Theater in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Both organs are under the care and restoration efforts of the Magnolia Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS).
TIFF Bell Lightbox is a cultural centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the first five floors of the Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower on the north west corner of King Street and John Street.
The Budweiser Stage, originally known as the Molson Amphitheatre, is a concert venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the grounds of Ontario Place and hosts many diverse acts, including genres like rock, pop, country, and jazz. The first musician to perform here was Bryan Adams on May 18, 1995.
KPMB is a Canadian architecture firm founded by Bruce Kuwabara, Thomas Payne, Marianne McKenna, and Shirley Blumberg, in 1987. It is headquartered in Toronto, where the majority of their work is found. Aside from designing buildings, the firm also works in interior design. KPMB Architects was officially renamed from Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects to KPMB Architects on February 12, 2013.
The Thornton–Smith Building, located at 340 Yonge Street, is a prominent heritage building in the heart of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Since the completion of the building in the twenties, Yonge Street has seen many transformations and while tenants in the building have reflected these changes The Thornton–Smith Building itself has remained true to its original architecture.
Marianne McKenna, OC, FRAIC, OAA, OAQ, AIA, RIBA is a Canadian architect and a founding partner of KPMB Architects, a Toronto-based practice established in 1987. She is an invested Officer of The Order of Canada "for her contributions as an architect, designing structures that enrich the public realm". Her projects include the renovation and expansion of The Royal Conservatory TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning and Koerner Hall. McKenna and KPMB were selected by The Brearley School, an independent all-girls school located in New York City, to lead the renovation of its building located on the Upper East Side. Her current projects also include for Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alberta and an expansion and renovation of historic Massey Hall in Toronto In 2010 she was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women and in 2014 she was named one of Toronto’s top 50 Powerful People by MacLean’s Magazine.
The Odeon Theatre Toronto was a movie theatre located at 20 Carlton Street in Toronto, Ontario. Designed by architect Jay English and operating between 1949 and 1973, the theatre was the Canadian flagship of Odeon Cinemas and one of Toronto's best examples of Streamline Moderne architecture.
Geoffrey Massey was a Canadian architect and urban planner noted for his modernism-inspired architectural works. He was known for his partnership with architect Arthur Erickson that produced notable designs including the Simon Fraser University, and MacMillan Bloedel Building. As an urban planner, Massey was known for his contributions toward pedestrian-friendly densification of Vancouver and development of Granville Island in the city.
