Harbourfront Centre - Parks - Toronto Music Garden

About the Garden

This delightful garden—a reflection in landscape of Bach's First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello—was designed by internationally renowned cellist Yo Yo Ma and landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy, in collaboration with landscape architects from the City of Toronto's Parks and Recreation department.

Each dance movement within the suite corresponds to a different section of the garden:

PRELUDE – An undulating river scape with curves and bends
The first moment of the suite imparts the feeling of a flowing river through which the visitor can stroll. Granite boulders from the southern edge of the Canadian Shield are placed to represent a stream bed with low-growing plants softening its banks. The whole is overtopped by an alley of native Hackberry trees (Celtis occidentalis), whose straight trunks and regular spacing suggest measures of music.
ALLEMANDE – A forest grove of wandering trails
The Allemande is an ancient German dance. Interpreted here as a Birch forest, the movement invites the visitor to swirl inward to various contemplative sitting areas, that move higher and higher up the hillside, culminating in a rocky vantage point that looks over the harbour through a circle of Dawn Redwood trees.
COURANTE – A swirling path through a wildflower meadow
Originally an Italian and French dance form, the Courante is an exuberant movement that is interpreted here as a huge, upward-spiralling swirl through a lush field of grasses and brightly-coloured perennials that attract birds and butterflies. At the top, a Maypole spins in the wind.
SARABANDE – A conifer grove in the shape of an arc
This movement is based on an ancient Spanish dance form. Its contemplative quality is interpreted here as an inward-arcing circle that is enclosed by tall needle-leaf evergreen trees. Envisioned as a poet's corner, the garden's centerpiece is a huge stone that acts as a stage for readings, and holds a small pool with water that reflects the sky.
MINUETS – A formal flower parterre
This French dance was contemporary to Bach's time. Its formality and grace are reflected in the symmetry and geometry of this movement's design. Hand-crafted with ornamental steel, a circular pavilion is designed to shelter small musical ensembles or dance groups.
GIGUE – Giant grass steps that dance you down to the outside world
The Gigue, or "jog" is an English dance, whose jaunty, rollicking music is interpreted here as a series of giant grass steps that offer views onto the harbour. The steps form a curved amphitheatre that focus on a stone stage set under a weeping willow tree; a place for informal performances. Shrubs and perennials act as large, enclosing arms, framing views out onto the harbour.

Two Canadian artists created special features for the Music Garden: Tom Tollefson, architectural blacksmith, fabricated the Music Pavilion; and Anne Roberts, Feir Mill Design Inc., designed the Maypole.

Summer Music in the Garden

Let’s make beautiful music and dance this summer!

Presented in the gorgeous setting of the Toronto Music Garden, the annual Summer Music in the Garden series and tours are produced by Harbourfront Centre in partnership with City of Toronto Parks Forestry and Recreation, with the generous support of Toronto Culture, and Margaret and Jim Fleck.

Concerts are Thursdays at 7pm and Sundays at 4pm (weather-permitting) and are approximately one hour in length. Bench seating is available, but limited, so please feel free to bring a lawn chair. We also advise bringing a hat or umbrella and sunscreen as shade is limited. Please call our info desk at 416.973.4000 for the most up-to-date concert rain dates.

Summer Music in the Garden is curated for Harbourfront Centre by artistic director Tamara Bernstein.

Artistic Statement

Borders: such a homey, straightforward concept for a garden! But the Toronto Music Garden is not just any garden. Nestled between city and lake, it dissolves the borders between music and landscape, transforming Bach’s Suite No. 1 in G Major for unaccompanied cello into a magical space. The borders theme resonates through many of this summer’s concerts too. The Kirby String Quartet performs classics that pushed the aesthetic boundaries of their day; Lucas Harris and Wen Zhao cross musical borders to bring together two instruments with a common ancestor; Aruna Narayan keeps venerable South Asian musical traditions alive even while breaking down barriers as a female sarangi virtuoso. And Orfea retells the pan-cultural myth of the hero/heroine who breaches the ultimate border in order to bring a loved one back from the realm of the dead – a theme echoed by those ancient symbols of departed souls: the monarch butterflies who grace the Music Garden in late summer on their great, mysterious migration.

- Tamara Bernstein, Artistic Director

Touring the Toronto Music Garden

Guided Tours

Our popular garden tours return for another season. Learn about the garden's unique design and history on a 45-minutes walking tour, led by a volunteer Toronto Botanical Garden guide.

Guided Tours run from June 4 to Sept 24, Wednesdays at 11am and Thursdays at 5pm (pre-concert). Meet in the west end of the Garden's Prelude section.

To book group tours, please call 416.397.1366. Adult ESL tours are also available!

Take Your Own Audio Tour

Hand-held audio players offer commentary by the Garden's designers Yo-Yo Ma and Julie Moir Messervy, detailing each unique section, as well as excerpts from Bach's First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello. You can rent one for $5 at the Marina Quay West office at 539 Queens Quay West (on the pier immediately south of the Garden). A security deposit is required. Audio tours are approximately 70 minutes in length.

Group Tours

To book group tours, please call the Toronto Botanical Garden Tour information line at 416.397.1366. Adult ESL tours are also available.

General Information

The Toronto Music Garden is a City of Toronto park, located at 475 Queen's Quay West on the waterfront between Bathurst Street and Spadina Avenue (Click to see map).

The Toronto Music Garden is easy to reach by public transit. Take the Spadina 510 streetcar south from the Spadina subway station or the LRT Harbourfront Line going west from Union Station. Call the Toronto Transit Commision at 416.393.4636 for service information, or visit the TTC website.

For information on the Toronto Music Garden and its programs, or to receive information on upcoming events, call the Harbourfront Centre Info Line at 416.973.4000.

The Toronto Music Garden is open year-round and there is no admission fee. The Toronto Music Garden is wheelchair-accessible.

Photography, video or audio recording is not permitted during Music Garden performances except with prior authorization from the performers and Harbourfront Centre.