Ukrainian Art Song Project

Ukrainian Art Song Summer Institute alumna TARYN PLATER invites you to a show she is co-producing and singing in later this month.

When: April 17 + 18 at 7:30PM | April 19 at 2:30PM
Where: The Annex, 823 Seymour St, Vancouver
MORE INFO | TICKETS
(use code FOXFRIENDS for 30% off of $40 General tickets)

"The Fox" is an eerie and deeply nuanced new chamber opera, sung in English with a fantastically dramatic score. Based on the novella by D.H. Lawrence, it revolves around two women who run an isolated farm in the wake of WWI and the Spanish Flu, and the unsettling young soldier who comes to stay. The opera is by Vancouver-based composer Roan Shankaruk. This will be its staged premiere.

"The Fox" is the first full-scale opera produced by Opera Unbound (the company Taryn co-directs).

🎶 Ukrainian Art Song Summer Institute (est. 2017)
A unique, highly selective program for singers and collaborative pianists—only 8 vocalists + 1 pianist accepted!
✨ One-on-one coaching with renowned faculty
✨ Specialized training in Ukrainian art song
✨ Career development + performance skills
✨ Public recital opportunity
✨ Build your professional network
📅 Deadline (extended): April 10, 2026
💲 $50 CAD application fee
🌐 ukrainianartsong.ca
Emerging and professional artists—apply now!
art song

Shared with Public
Don't miss the ever-impressive Joshua Bell, a 2025/26 Spotlight Artist, returns to the TSO stage bringing the lush cinematic magic of Ukrainian composer Thomas de Hartmann’s rediscovered Violin Concerto, a work “both heart-wrenching and uplifting,” Bell says, “as gripping and relevant today as when composed during WWII.” The concerto was written in response to the N**i occupation of Ukraine and is a lament for the devastation that war and the N**i occupation had brought to his native Ukraine during WWII. The orchestra will be conducted by Dalia Stasevska, who is "one of the most stratospherically ascendant musicians in classical music today." She is currently the Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In 2021, she was awarded the Order of Princess Olga of the III degree by President Zelensky for promoting Ukraine's historical and cultural heritage.
The Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra joins to deliver a rousing performance of Sibelius’s Finlandia to open, while Dvořák’s stirring Symphony No. 7 provides a magnificent finale.
Tickets can be purchased at this link and the Program Notes are also available : https://www.tso.ca/concerts.../events/joshua-bell-returns ,

✨ Experience The Urban Orchestra live at The Old Mill Toronto on November 10, 2025!
Immerse yourself in an unforgettable evening where classical meets contemporary in one of Toronto’s most iconic venues. 🌆🎻

🎟️ Don’t miss this one-night-only performance — get your tickets now!

The Urban Orchestra is pleased to be partnering with The Old Mill for the Fall show of their 2025/2026 season, Monday, November 10 – 8 pm. Tichets: https://www.oldmilltoronto.com/event/urban-orchestra/
Their mission is to hold live orchestral music performances in non-traditional spaces, so that our audiences experience the power of an orchestra up close – the way orchestras were meant to be heard.
Program notes:
· Dvořak’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” combines his Czech musical heritage with impressions of America. Inspired by spirituals and folk traditions, its powerful themes and vibrant rhythms make it one of the world’s enduringly popular symphonies.
· The Urban Orchestra is excited to present the Grand prize winners from this years’ Canadian Music Competition. Together they will be performing the 1st movement of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto.
· Jean Sibelius’s Finlandia is a stirring tone poem filled with sweeping brass, soaring melodies, and a hymn-like theme. Composed in 1899, it captures both Finland’s patriotic response to Russian censorship, and a universal sense of hope and perseverance.
· Mykola Lysenko’s Prayer for Ukraine is cherished as Ukraine’s spiritual anthem. With its serene melody and heartfelt plea for peace, it embodies national unity and hope in times of struggle.

✨ Experience The Urban Orchestra live at The Old Mill Toronto on November 10, 2025!
Immerse yourself in an unforgettable evening where classical meets contemporary in one of Toronto’s most iconic venues. 🌆🎻

🎟️ Don’t miss this one-night-only performance — get your tickets now!

https://youtu.be/TJkUdULWzSw

When Poetry Meets Composition: Interview with Myroslav and Anna Volynsky

Within the walls of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, during the Summer Institute of Ukrainian Art Song, a heartfelt meeting took place with composer Myroslav Volynsky and poet Anna Volynska. In this interview, the creative duo shares their experiences and explains how they resumed their creative path after the full-scale invasion.
Learn why culture is a weapon, how the process of turning poetry into music unfolds in their family, and why it is crucial today to present Ukrainian art to the world, reclaiming stolen names

Коли поезія зустрічається з композицією: Інтерв'ю з Мирославом та Анною Волинськими Запрошуємо вас на фінальний концерт Літнього інституту, що стане незабутнім святом української пісні та музики. Подія відбудеться цієї неділі, 17 серпня, о 1...

We made the list! Don't miss the "Ukrainian Art Song Summer Institute: Artists in Performance" on Sunday, August 17 at 3 p.m.
Ludwig Van Toronto’s CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical Music Events You Absolutely Need To See This Week: August 11 – August 17.

CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical Music Events You Absolutely Need To See This Week: August 11 – August 17 Classical music and opera events in Toronto for the week of August 11 to 17, 2025.