Blog

Soundstreams opens 2025/26 season with Mass for the Endangered:
A powerful exploration of the natural world through music, featuring work by
Sarah Kirkland Snider, R. Murray Schafer, Olivier Messiaen, Arvo Pärt, Andrew Balfour, and Chris Hutchings.

October 8, 2025 (TORONTO, ON): Lawrence Cherney, Founding Artistic Director of Soundstreams, has announced the program for its season opener, Mass for the Endangered, featuring choral, instrumental, and orchestral works, performed by celebrated musicians Louise Bessette (piano), Judy Loman (harp), and Erika Raum (violin), with Soundstreams Choir 21 and Ensemble Soundstreams conducted by David Fallis. This one-night-only experience takes place on November 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre (427 Bloor St W, Toronto). 

“Human activity has severely impacted our natural environment, and despair at what we have done is inevitable” says Cherney. “However, it is uniquely music that can remind us not only of what we have lost in the sounds of the natural world, but it can inspire us to still do all that we can to save that world. We hope this program will stimulate us to take action.”

The first half of the concert features highly evocative works inspired by bird song from Olivier Messiaen’s legendary Catalogue d’oiseaux: L’alouette calandrelle, Le traquet rieur, Le courlis cendré); R. Murray Schafer’s Wild Bird (originally premiered by this night’s performing harpist, Judy Loman); Andrew Balfour’s Gaze Upon the Trees; the Canadian premiere of Let them not say by Chris Hutchings; and Veni Creator Spiritus by Arvo Pärt.

The concert concludes with Mass for the Endangered by Sarah Kirkland Snider. Hailed by National Public Radio as “one of today’s most compelling composers for the human voice,” her piece is a poignant choral meditation on the fragility of our natural world. It blends Nathaniel Bellows’ evocative poetry with the traditional Latin Mass, a plea for compassion and stewardship in the face of environmental crisis.

“I’m honoured and thrilled that Soundstreams will present Mass for the Endangered at the opening of their 43rd season,” shares composer Sarah Kirkland Snider. “In addition to being one of the world’s finest presenters of new music, I feel a strong personal connection with Soundstreams’ socially conscientious mandate and vision. Their organization has held a special place in my heart since I served as Composer-in-Residence for their Bridges program a few years ago. It means a great deal to me to have them bring one of my most personal and significant works to life with this performance.” 

Mass for the Endangered, along with its companion Encounters event For the Birds on November 12, is presented in association with FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program) Canada, a leading Canadian charity and recognized authority on bird-building collisions. Their work is dedicated to preserving bird ecosystems and protecting birdsong by keeping birds safe from deadly collisions in our built environment.

Tickets for Soundstreams concerts are available now: visit Soundstreams.ca for more information.

MASS FOR THE ENDANGERED
November 22, 2025, 7:30 p.m. 
Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre
Featuring David Fallis, Conductor, Soundstreams Choir 21, Ensemble Soundstreams,  Louise Bessette, Judy Loman, and Erika Raum. 

Running time: Two hours including one intermission
Tickets start at $22.50, click HERE.

Soundstreams gratefully acknowledges public and private supporters:
Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, TD Ready Commitment, Raymond James Wealth Management, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Azrieli Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, The Metcalf Foundation, SOCAN Foundation, Raymond James Canada Foundation, Epstein Family Trust, the Anne-Marie H. Applin Foundation, the Martin Bhadra Charitable Gift Fund, and Soundstreams’ generous individual donors. 

Connect & Share

@Soundstreams on all social media platforms

About Soundstreams 

Under the leadership of its Founding Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney, Soundstreams began in 1982 with a tribute to Igor Stravinsky’s 100th birth year, an artist who fundamentally transformed the ways we hear our world. In the intervening years, we’ve probed compelling Canadian themes and stories through new works in music and opera that resonate with our time and place. We aim not only to reflect upon those themes and stories but to inspire new perspectives and approaches to them. 

Soundstreams has created a platform for compelling new creations both at home and abroad. Our various Toronto-based concert series, educational and outreach events and professional development programs have showcased nearly 1500 global creators and performers in collaboration with their Canadian counterparts. At the same time, Soundstreams’ productions have toured North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe. In recent seasons, Soundstreams has received high praise from the international press: The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

-30-Media Contact: Katie Saunoris, Publicist (KSPR) | [email protected] | Media Gallery