News

The Toledo Symphony has announced Michelle Keaster, Monclova Christian Academy music teacher, as the recipient of the 2025-26 Outstanding Music Educator of the Year Award. This is the seventh consecutive year the TSO has honored current, full-time, Kindergarten through 12th grade music educators who teach music in public and private schools in the Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan region.

Through the Outstanding Music Educator Award, the Toledo Symphony recognizes the vital role music teachers play in the lives of the students they teach. Music teachers introduce, instill, and cultivate a love of music that surpasses the time spent in the classroom. They lay the foundation for a lifetime of appreciation that serves to perpetuate these artforms. 

Families are invited to experience the magic of live orchestral music as the whimsical stories of Dr. Seuss leap from the page to the stage in Dr. Seuss and The Symphony, presented as part of The Andersons Inc. Charitable Foundation Family Series by the Toledo Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, January 25 at 3:00 PM in the Peristyle Theater at the Toledo Museum of Art.

Designed especially for young audiences and their families, this one-hour concert introduces children to the joy of live music through three narrated storybooks performed alongside a full orchestra. Featured works include “The Symphony Goes to the Zoo,” “Green Eggs and Ham,” and “The Sneetches,” creating a playful and engaging first concert experience for audiences of all ages.

This December, Live Arts Toledo proudly presents the 85th annual production of The Nutcracker, the longest-running production of the beloved holiday ballet in North America. Performances run December 12–14, 2025 at The Stranahan Theater and is presented by Fifth Third Bank.

First staged in Toledo in 1941, The Nutcracker has become one of the region’s most cherished holiday traditions. More than eight decades later, the production continues to bring together students, families, professional artists, and community guests in celebration of imagination and holiday magic.

Live Arts Toledo is proud to announce a special evening of music and memories with the legendary Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass & Other Delights, coming to the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle Theater on Saturday, May 16, 2026.

A nine-time GRAMMY® Award-winner and co-founder of A&M Records, Herb Alpert has sold over 72 million records worldwide. With a catalog that once outsold The Beatles two to one, his music is an indelible part of American pop culture.

Angela Meade stands among the most celebrated American sopranos of her generation, revered for her opulent tone, remarkable agility, and commanding dramatic presence. Her career launched spectacularly with a surprise Metropolitan Opera debut in 2008, stepping in as Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani, a breakthrough that marked her arrival as a major operatic voice.

Meade’s artistry brings a rare combination of vocal brilliance, emotional depth, and dramatic intuition. Her appearance with the Toledo Symphony offers Northwest Ohio audiences the chance to experience one of today’s most sought-after sopranos performing at the height of her artistic powers.

In collaboration with Carnegie Hall, the Toledo Symphony is participating in Link Up: The Orchestra Moves, a music education program provided by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI). Students participating in the Link Up curriculum will attend a culminating concert on February 26 at the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle where they sing and play the recorder or their desired instrument with the orchestra from their seats. This experience often serves as a students’ first concert and provides them with the opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied. All Live Arts Toledo Young People’s Performances are made possible with the generous support of SSOE Group.

Alumni Event and Fall Concert Scheduled for November 8 & 9

The TSYO story began when DeVilbiss High School student Joseph Henry gathered friends who loved music. By 1950, the group became the official Toledo Youth Orchestras under Cecile Vashaw, later led by Kenneth Holland and Michael Miller. A second ensemble, the Toledo Junior Youth Orchestra, was added in 1978 to support younger musicians. In 2011, the ensembles joined the Toledo Symphony and rebranded as the Toledo Symphony Youth Orchestras, now comprising the Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra, and Concert Strings.

The Toledo Jazz Orchestra (TJO) launches the 2025–2026 Hartmann-Bogan Jazz Series with a concert featuring the incomparable Arturo Sandoval, one of the most celebrated jazz trumpeters of our time.  

A protégé of the legendary Dizzy Gillespie, Arturo Sandoval has become an international icon of jazz. Since defecting to the United States in 1990, Sandoval has earned 10 Grammy Awards, 6 Billboard Awards, and an Emmy. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 and was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2024. 

Toledo Symphony Once Again Among America’s Top Orchestras 

The Toledo Symphony has been formally admitted to the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM), the nation’s most prominent network of full-time orchestral musicians. This milestone marks a significant recognition of the Symphony’s artistic excellence, organizational strength, and national standing.

The Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts announces it is rebranding as Live Arts Toledo, a bold new identity that reflects its role as the cultural heartbeat of the region. The new name embodies the energy, accessibility, and community impact that live performance brings to Toledo. With hundreds of events each year, from world-class productions to immersive educational programs, Live Arts Toledo will continue staging awe-inspiring experiences designed for everyone in the community, just under a new name.