Christmas 2026 · Toronto
Carol services and Christmas concerts in Toronto, 2026
Toronto keeps Christmas with a choir: Lessons and Carols by candlelight at the Anglican cathedral, three Messiahs in a single week, and a Sing-Along Messiah conducted, as ever, by “Mr Handel” himself. Here are the services and concerts we could confirm on the churches’ and orchestras’ own pages on 12 November 2026.
Updated November 2026
St James Cathedral: Lessons and Carols
The Anglican Cathedral Church of St James opens Advent with Advent Lessons and Carols on Sunday 29 November at 4.30pm. A Blue Christmas service of prayer and reflection follows on Tuesday 8 December at 6.30pm, and thirty-minute Merry Moments of music on 15 and 17 December at 4pm and 6pm, and on Saturday 19 December at 1pm (at 10.30am with the Children’s Community Choir, followed by a nativity petting zoo at 11am).
Christmas Lessons and Carols is sung on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, 20 December, at 4.30pm, and again on Christmas Eve at 5pm, after a festal organ recital at 4.30pm. Christmas Eve opens at 3pm with Christmas Together, a new 45-minute service for all ages, and ends with the Choral Eucharist at 8pm. On Christmas Day there is a said Eucharist at 8am and a Choral Eucharist at 10.30am.
Our advice: the cathedral prints no ticketing for its services; arrive well before the start for the Lessons and Carols, which draw the largest congregations of the season.
St James Cathedral: Advent and Christmas
The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s Festival of Carols
The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s Festival of Carols is at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge Street, on Tuesday 1, Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 December, 7.30pm–9pm. Jean-Sébastien Vallée conducts traditional carols and festive works, and a new commission by its 2026/27 composer-in-residence, with Irene Gregorio (piano) and Jonathan Oldengarm (organ). Tickets from the Royal Conservatory box office (416-408-0208).
Our advice: these are the first carols of the season in the city; pair one with the opening weeks of the Distillery Winter Village.
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir: Festival of Carols
Messiah, four ways
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Benson Kua from Toronto, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsThe Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Messiah, with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, is at Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe Street, on 15, 16, 18 and 19 December at 7.30pm and Sunday 20 December at 3pm. Ivor Bolton conducts, with the soprano Louise Alder, the mezzo Deepa Johnny, the tenor Paul Appleby and the baritone Joshua Hopkins. The TSO’s Holiday Pops, A Celtic Celebration with the MacMaster Leahy Family, is on 9 and 10 December at 2pm and 7.30pm.
Tafelmusik, the city’s baroque orchestra and choir, sings Handel’s Messiah under Ivars Taurins at Koerner Hall in the TELUS Centre on Thursday 17, Friday 18 and Saturday 19 December at 7.30pm (three hours), with Myriam Leblanc, Cecilia Duarte, Jacob Perry Jr. and Jesse Blumberg. Its Sing-Along Messiah, now 40 years old and directed, as ever, by “Mr Handel”, fills Massey Hall on Sunday 20 December at 2pm.
St James Cathedral has its own Messiah on Saturday 12 December at 7.30pm (doors 6.30pm), with the choirs of the cathedral and Trinity College and the Orchestra of St James under Thomas Bell. Seats are first come, first served; tickets are C$53, sold only through the cathedral’s Eventbrite page, and last year’s performance sold out.
Our advice: Tafelmusik’s Sing-Along sells out every year; book it now, and bring your own score if you have one.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra: Messiah TSO Holiday Pops: A Celtic Celebration Tafelmusik: Handel Messiah Tafelmusik: Sing-Along Messiah St James Cathedral: Messiah
St Michael’s Cathedral Basilica and midnight Mass
The Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St Michael publishes its Christmas and New Year Mass schedule on its own website each December; the 2026 times, and the date of St Michael’s Choir School’s Christmas concert at Massey Hall, were not yet published when we checked. Our advice: look again in early December, and arrive early for the Christmas Eve Masses, when the boys’ choirs sing.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Jfvoll · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsSt Michael’s Cathedral Basilica
How to get a seat
Concerts at Roy Thomson Hall, Koerner Hall and Massey Hall are ticketed and the best seats go early; the cathedral’s services are not ticketed, so arrive at least 45 minutes before Lessons and Carols. Dress warmly for the queue, and bring a little for the collection.
Our advice: Christmas Day 2026 is a Friday, so the carols and Messiahs cluster on the weekend of 19 and 20 December. Check each church’s or orchestra’s own page in the week before you go, as times can change.
Questions and answers
When is Lessons and Carols at St James Cathedral in 2026?
Advent Lessons and Carols is on Sunday 29 November at 4.30pm, and Christmas Lessons and Carols on Sunday 20 December at 4.30pm and on Christmas Eve at 5pm.
When is the Messiah in Toronto in 2026?
St James Cathedral on 12 December (7.30pm); the TSO with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at Roy Thomson Hall on 15, 16, 18 and 19 December (7.30pm) and 20 December (3pm); Tafelmusik at Koerner Hall on 17–19 December (7.30pm); and Tafelmusik’s Sing-Along Messiah at Massey Hall on 20 December at 2pm.
Are there Christmas Eve services in Toronto in 2026?
Yes. St James Cathedral has Christmas Together at 3pm, an organ recital at 4.30pm, Christmas Lessons and Carols at 5pm and a Choral Eucharist at 8pm on Christmas Eve. St Michael’s Cathedral Basilica had not yet published its 2026 Christmas Mass times when we checked.
Dates and times from each church’s or organiser’s own page (stjamescathedral.ca, tso.ca, newsroom.tso.ca, tafelmusik.org, tmchoir.org, stmichaelscathedral.com), checked 12 November 2026. Check before you go.