The Toronto-based Queer Songbook Orchestra are casting a queer eye over Canada’s history, marking the occasion of our 150th birthday with a collaboration between prominent LGBTQ Canadian artists who explore queer truths and experience on a national stage.

The Queer Songbook Orchestra are a 12-piece chamber pop ensemble of queer and allied musicians, dedicated to exploring the LGBTQ back-stories and personal narratives in the last century of popular music. Collaborating with many of Canada’s top composers, the QSO commission new arrangements of all the material they work with and present story and song together in a way that reveals obscured histories and emphasizes a bond among community. Formed in 2014, the QSO have been invited to perform across Canada, earning high praise for their unique mission and original approach.

This special concert will be hosted by Olympic gold medallist Mark Tewksbury and theatre actor/writer Stephen Jackman-Torkoff. Guest artists include three-time JUNO Award-winner Carole Pope (Rough Trade); renowned singer-songwriter, filmmaker, and social activist Lorraine Segato (The Parachute Club); Gwen Benaway, an award-winning, two-spirit trans poet of Anishinaabe and Métis descent; and acclaimed singer-songwriter and regular guest on the Mr. Dressup show for many years Beverly Glenn Copeland.

In partnership with the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives. 

Presented in English.