About Us

Veteran Toronto Star music critic William Littler once wrote that Latvia was “a country that must have given birth to more composers per square mile than a Canadian would dare imagine.” The same can be said of exceptional Latvian performers.

In 1959, composers Talivaldis Kenins and Janis Cirulis met with singer/author Mariss Vetra to discuss ways of preserving and fostering their Latvian heritage while enriching the cultural life of their adopted city. They all agreed it was important to provide a way for the best and the brightest Latvian classical artists from around the world to perform in Toronto in an uncompromising professional setting. With this goal in mind, they created the Toronto Latvian Concert Association.

As a subscription series with a relatively predictable capital base, the TLCA is able to invite artists beyond the reach of other Latvian cultural organizations.
Now in its 49th season, the TLCA is one of the oldest classical music recital series in Canada, and has organized nearly 200 concerts featuring artists from across Canada, the USA, Mexico, Chile, England, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and Latvia.

Internationally acclaimed opera performers Inese Galante, Ingus Petersons, Sonora Vaice and Inga Kalna have all appeared in Toronto under the TLCA banner and the list of instrumental soloists reads like a “who’s who” of Latvian classical musicians. Over the years, TLCA patrons have heard such Grammy nominated artists as violinist Sandis Steinbergs, concertmaster of KREMERata Baltica (with the RIX Quartet), and composer Peteris Vasks, who joined us when the TLCA presented the North American premiere of his violin concerto “Distant Light”.

While most Latvians proudly think of themselves as being part of mainstream European culture, fifty plus years of occupation left the country and its people on the edge of obscurity. The TLCA hopes to engage a broader audience to help counter that perception.

The TLCA offers a unique concert experience to all who are culturally aware and musically curious, wishing to hear what Latvia’s finest cultural ambassadors are doing. Please join us this season at the magnificent Glenn Gould Studio!