Toronto Symphony Orchestra Reports Continued Financial Health, Artistic Achievement & Community Impact

The many successes of the organization’s 2024/25 season were shared at its AGM.

Toronto, October 21, 2025—Earlier today, at its Annual General Meeting, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) announced to its supporters, musicians, and staff that it ended its 2025 fiscal year with a surplus of just under $60,000, bringing its accumulated surplus to more than $925,000. The TSO has reported a surplus in every year of the last decade except for fiscal year 2020. This achievement can be attributed to a combination of careful financial management, record-breaking ticket sales, and the generosity of donors, government, corporate partners, foundations, subscribers, and patrons. 

These supporters made it possible for the TSO to issue more than 230,000 tickets in 2024/25—its 102nd year—to patrons attending mainstage performances and other engagements held throughout Toronto and in neighbouring communities.

“In my first year as TSO Board Chair, the word that best describes my experience is connection,” said Tom Smee in his AGM message, “to see how connected the musicians and Music Director Gustavo Gimeno are to each other and the inspiring music they create for us; how connected our TSO community is with this orchestra; how connected the TSO is with the city of Toronto; and how music has the power to connect us all season long by creating emotional experiences that take us beyond ourselves.”

Watch the 2024/25 season highlights video

2024/25 Season Highlights

In his own remarks, Gimeno elaborated on the distinct rapport he has developed with the ensemble he leads: “The TSO’s marvellous 2024/25 season marked both my fifth year as Music Director of this extraordinary orchestra and the achievement of an unprecedented level of creative collaboration and synergy,” he said. “Having already established a close relationship and history together, we were able to build upon a strong artistic foundation with great energy and fearlessness—starting from the very first concert. That inaugural program opened with the first in a series of seven concerti for orchestra that allowed us to shine a well-deserved spotlight on the TSO’s collective artistry and versatility.”

This series represented just one of last season’s numerous artistic accomplishments and community-engagement activities designed to deepen the TSO’s relationships with its audiences and the broader community. Other notable highlights included the following:

• The TSO’s third annual Open House & Free Concert broke attendance records, filling Roy Thomson Hall with more than 4,000 visitors and audience members, including many first-timers.
• Three Relaxed Performances—adapted from two Young People’s Concerts and a Masterworks program—allowed members of the Neurodiverse and Disability communities to comfortably experience music in their own ways.
• In partnership with Sistema Toronto, TSO Barrett Principal Education Conductor & Community Ambassador Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser and members of the orchestra led interactive workshops with youth in underserved communities.
• TSO musicians, Indigenous composer Cris Derksen, and staff at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) brought the Art of Healing program to a third cohort of CAMH patients, supporting them through musical storytelling and composition.
• More than 35,000 students engaged in the TSO’s education programs, which included School Concerts for elementary-school students and Mornings with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Open Rehearsals for high-school students in the GTA.
• On select PA Days and weekends, TSO members joined forces with Toronto Public Library staff for Symphony Storytime, bringing books to life through music for young listeners and their families.
• The orchestra’s third annual visit to Brampton’s The Rose theatre brought the calypso-themed all-ages program Hot! Hot! Hot! to Toronto’s northwest neighbours.
• Year of the Snake: A Lunar New Year Celebration brought the city’s Chinese, Chinese Canadian, and broader East Asian communities together in a joyful expression of cultural pride.
• Films with live orchestra included Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert, which welcomed more than 8,000 patrons across four performances, and the charming and delightful Matilda in Concert, featuring Danny DeVito as narrator and composer David Newman as conductor.
• TSO Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke led crowd-pleasing Pops tributes to Tina Turner, 21st-century Broadway, and disco.
• The Women in Musical Leadership fellowship, offered in partnership with Tapestry Opera, and the TSO’s NextGen Composers and Explore the Score programs continued to provide invaluable mentorship and talent-development opportunities for Canadian early-career conductors and composers.
• In its 51st season, the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra presented three wide-ranging and ambitious concert programs—two of which were sold out—and performed the Polovtsian Dances from Borodin’s Prince Igor side-by-side with the TSO.
• Two Spotlight Artists—pianist Jan Lisiecki and soprano Anna Prohaska in her TSO début—joined the orchestra for five compelling Masterworks programs that showcased multiple aspects of their artistry.
• The TSO’s acclaimed recording of Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie won the 2025 JUNO Award for Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble).
• The organization received the 2025 Canoo Community Award from the Institute for Canadian Citizenship in recognition of its work in welcoming close to 6,000 new Canadians into the cultural fabric of the nation.
• Created and curated by Jonathan Crow, The TSO Chamber Soloists presented five pre-concert performances at Roy Thomson Hall and were joined by renowned guest artists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Anna Prohaska.
• Polaris Music Prize–winning Wolastoqiyik composer and singer Jeremy Dutcher headlined the final, profoundly moving concert of the season on the summer solstice.

“The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is proud to play a vital and enduring role in the cultural and civic life of our city,” said TSO Beck Family CEO Mark Williams. “Every note we perform, every partnership we forge, and every student we influence reaffirms our commitment to artistry that inspires, challenges, and unites Torontonians through the power of music. Whether discovering the orchestra for the first time or deepening a lifelong love of music, audiences filled Roy Thomson Hall and partner venues across the GTA, sharing in moments of connection that only live performance can create. And we look forward to another season of discovery, inspiration, and music that resonates far beyond the final note.” 

Read the TSO’s 2024/25 Annual Letter to the Community.

Download the TSO’s Financial Statements for fiscal year 2025.

About the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

For more than a century, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has played a fundamental role in shaping and celebrating Canadian culture. The TSO’s commitment to musical excellence and ability to spark connection remain as strong as ever. With a storied history of acclaimed concerts and recordings, Canadian and international tours, and impactful community partnerships, we are dedicated to engaging and enriching local and national communities through vibrant musical experiences. Music Director Gustavo Gimeno brings an expansive artistic vision, intellectual curiosity, and sense of adventure to programming the 93-musician orchestra that serves Toronto—one of the world’s most diverse cities. As a group of artists, teachers, and advocates who share the belief that music has the power to heal, inspire, and connect people from all walks of life, we engage audiences young and old through an array of community-access, health-and-well-being, and education initiatives including the TSO-affiliated Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra—a tuition-free training program dedicated to cultivating the next generation of Canadian artists. Symphony With Us at a concert at Roy Thomson Hall, or experience the TSO in your neighbourhood. Visit TSO.CA or Newsroom.TSO.CA.

The TSO relies on the generosity of thousands of donors and partners who provide a critical base of funding that makes possible all of the TSO’s music-making on stage and in the community. 

The TSO Season Presenting Sponsor is BMO.

The TSO acknowledges Mary Beck as the Musicians’ Patron in perpetuity for her generous and longstanding support.

The TSO’s Education and Community Engagement programs are generously supported by the Barrett Family Foundation.

TSYO Conductor generously supported by the Toronto Symphony Volunteer Committee.

NextGen Composers are generously supported by RBC Foundation.

Year of the Snake: A Lunar New Year Celebration is generously supported by Bank of China (Canada).

Art of Healing program is generously supported by The Azrieli Foundation and Cadillac Fairview.

The TSO is grateful for the support of the Toronto Symphony Foundation and our government funding partners, including the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, the Government of Canada, and the Government of Ontario.