Toronto Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Toronto, Canada that was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra with its debut performance given at the city's famed Massey Hall. The orchestra eventually named itself after its home city in 1927, and would perform at Massey Hall until 1982, when the orchestra's venue was switched to the city's more elaborate Roy Thomson Hall. Despite experiencing some financial difficulties during the 1990s, subscribers to the TSO returned in full force during the 2000s, saving the orchestra from bankruptcy and recasting it as one of Canada's most celebrated orchestras performing today.

Fusing modern pop and rock with classic choral music, Gregorian is a vocal group from Germany that has created Gregorian chant-inspired music since 1998. After the release of Gregorian's 1991 debut album, Sadisfaction, Frank Peterson decided to re-invent the group and perform popular songs in Gregorian fashion. Peterson carefully chose songs based on strict criteria and recorded each Gregorian album, known as the Master of Chant albums, with twelve acclaimed vocalists. Gregorian released its seventh Masters of Chant album in 2009.

Ethnomusicology--it's the study of social and cultural music and dance. This field of anthropological study is regarded as a progressive academic study that seeks to put to record the various sounds and movements created by different cultural groups. The 20th century Hungarian classical composer Bela Bartok was extremely interested in the field and even incorporated elements of Slavic folk music into his compositions. By doing so, Bartok gained credibility among his peers and cemented his reputation as a composer who isn't afraid to experiment with new things in order to achieve greatness.

Richard Clayderman is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, and much more.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Toronto, Canada that was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra with its debut performance given at the city's famed Massey Hall. The orchestra eventually named itself after its home city in 1927, and would perform at Massey Hall until 1982, when the orchestra's venue was switched to the city's more elaborate Roy Thomson Hall. Despite experiencing some financial difficulties during the 1990s, subscribers to the TSO returned in full force during the 2000s, saving the orchestra from bankruptcy and recasting it as one of Canada's most celebrated orchestras performing today.

Emanuel Ax is a classical pianist from New York City by way of Ukraine and Canada who is perhaps one of the most commercially successful and well-known concert pianists still performing today. A passionate student of music throughout his entire life, Ax studied at New York's famed Julliard School of Music while achieving his B.A. in French at Columbia University in 1970. Known for giving the world premiers of piano works written by today's most celebrated composers, such as John Adams and Christopher Rouse, Emanuel Ax is also generally considered to be a master performer of the standard repertoire, as well as some of the lesser known works by a wide array of composers throughout music history.

Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly debuted in Milan in 1904 to lukewarm reception, however it has since become one of the most renowned operas of all-time. U.S. naval officer B.F. Pinkerton secures a Japanese bride, Cio-Cio San, during his tour in Nagasaki. Pinkerton regards his newly acquired geisha and home merely as pieces of a romantic chapter in his roaming, adventurous youth. Cio-Cio San, or Madama Butterfly, believes unwaveringly that she has found a husband for life, renouncing her Buddhist faith, angering her family, and devoting herself to a new life with her American husband. Time passes, and three years later Cio-Cio San is alone in their home, longingly waiting for Pinkerton's return. Despite advice to the contrary, she prepares to bear his child, confident that he is faithful to her. After their son's birth, Pinkerton finally does arrive. However, he brings along with him his newly-wed American bride. The devastated Cio-Cio San, unable to bear the news, takes her own life, preferring death to a life of shame.

Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra is a youth training program affiliated with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Founded in 1974, the organization features musicians 22 years old and under and has spawned several professional solo and chamber musicians. The TSYO is known for working with world-class artists and conductors, including Vadim Gluzman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Dir Andrew Davis.

If there has ever been a composer to nearly attain perfection, it was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His seemingly unnatural ability to scribble off masterworks has been unmatched since his untimely death in 1791. The work that he created during his lifetime is widely considered the most impressive set of classical arrangements in history. His vast body of work meanders between Baroque music, symphonic work, concertante, as well as numerous other genres. Mozart's distinctive personality, flair for style and undisputed genius shines clearly through in his music and his boundless arrangements are impressive to say the least.

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia that performs for over 240,000 people annually and is the third largest symphony in Canada. Since being founded by the Vancouver Symphony Society in 1930, the VSO has seen its ups and downs throughout it's long history--instigated primarily by financial woes, which were eventually corrected by the Canadian government and the generosity of its subscribers. As of today, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra puts on over 140 concerts per year, and continues to bring the wonders of orchestral music to the residents and visitors of the great city of Vancouver.

Angela Hewitt is a concert pianist from Ottawa, Canada who is perhaps best known as one of the most respected and acclaimed interpreters of J.S. Bach's works for keyboard still performing today. Universally praised for her delicate and sensible touch when performing the works of Bach and other composers from the late Baroque, Hewitt is considered by many to be a revolutionary talent who has prompted many to rethink the proper method of performing keyboard works from this period in music history. Recognized the world over for her supreme talents as a pianist despite her modest demeanor, Angela Hewitt has not only been appointed as Officer of the Order of Canada in 2000, but also Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2006.

When the famed composer Ludwig van Beethoven started to lose his perception of sound, he contemplated suicide. But he instead decided to could carry on, imagining the notes in his head to create vastly impressive orchestrations. The German composer had been trained extensively as a child, and when he lost his hearing he was still able to write dramatic pieces that pull on the heart strings of listeners. The compositions he wrote while deaf have gone on to be regarded as some of the most absorbing songs ever written.

Jason Charles Beck (aka Chilly Gonzales) is a Canadian artist with a chameleon-like knack for bouncing all over the musical map. Created as an electro-rap, dance-oriented DJ project, Beck has used his Chilly Gonzales moniker to expand the confines of his former niche, moving into classical piano territory and film work--Beck co-wrote and starred in the 2010 film, Ivory Tower. His projects are regularly lauded by critics and his classical work has been rewarded with a Grammy award and comparisons to legendary French composer Erik Satie.

Though he's now known primarily for his emotionally-loaded, reflective contemporary classical and piano compositions, Max Richter's roots actually lie in the UK electronic music scene of the 1990s. Frequent collaborations with well-respected artists such as Roni Size and The Future Sound of London allowed him access to modern, electric experimentation that his classically-trained studies at the Royal Academy of Music hadn't touched on. It's this melding of disparate elements that characterizes Richter's music and has earned him a reputable solo career. Blending melancholy, minor chord piano melodies, pensive string arrangements and subtle use of found sounds and electronic loops, his albums maintain a strong sense of atmosphere and space throughout, often evoking a sweeping, theatrical feel. It's no surprise then that Richter has now started to dabble in film scoring, including his work on the 2008 film Waltz with Bashir.

Some musicians are so closely linked to their instruments that it seems like one wouldn't exist without the other. For the better part of his life, Yo-Yo Ma has become defined by the instrument he plays: the cello. He was born in Paris to a mother who was a singer and a father who was a music professor. Picking up music at an early age, Ma quickly became an adept cellists--performing to audiences at the early age of five and playing for President John F. Kennedy when he was only seven. Later, he would study at the famed Julliard School of Music enrolling at Harvard University. While studying music at these various institutions, Ma fell in love with classical arrangements but also with modern compositions--resulting in a unique take on music that blends old world sounds with modern tones.

Being a perfectionist undoubtedly played a large role in the way Johannes Brahms composed his classical songs. He is known to have taken a significant amount of time with his works and is even rumored to have destroyed finished pieces because he felt they didn't live up to their potential. This adherence to perfection played out well in his compositions, and his academic arrangements are extremely intellectual and ingenious. The Austrian musician is regarded for his vast impact on romantic music and is oftentimes grouped with and compared to Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven, as one of the Three Bs.