For the seventh straight season, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra will open its season with residencies in two Northern Ontario communities. This year, the TSO (led by conductor Alain Trudel and featuring soprano Shannon Mercer and the intrepid members of Platypus Theatre) will present concerts and educational programs in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie from September 12-16.

All told, the five-day tour will bring the orchestra in contact with over 10,000 students and adults in the two cities, presenting 37 in-school performances (eight of which will be given in French language), and 12 masterclasses for secondary and post-secondary students. In addition, the orchestra will give four performances of Platypus Theatre’s beloved How the Gimquat Found Her Song for school-aged audiences, and a pair of formal evening concerts in partnership with the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra (for the Sudbury concert on September 13) and Algoma Conservatory Concerts and the Algoma Fall Festival (for the Sault Ste. Marie concert on September 15). Of course, you can follow the Northern Residency on-line via the TSO’s tour blog, here:  tso.ca.