Luminato Festival

For two decades, Luminato has brought artists and audiences together to share bold, diverse, and thought-provoking art experiences. What began as an ambitious vision has grown into one of Canada’s leading international arts festivals that transforms the people, places and possibilities of Toronto.

This festival is particularly special. Across art experiences in theatre, circus, dance, music, opera, public art and film, we transform the city through the theme of PLAY. Running from June 3 – 28, 2026, we proudly present the longest festival in our history, featuring more than 50 free and ticketed events, over 140 performances and more than 25 locations across the city.Luminato 2026 showcases more than 1,000 artists, eight exclusive Canadian commissions and seven world premieres in a celebration that is distinctly Toronto, proudly Canadian, and totally Global.

We thank everyone who makes this celebration possible. We are grateful for everyone who participates in our festivities, whether local, from near or far. Thank you to our community of partners, donors, artists and volunteers.

This festival is a bright reflection of all that is great about Toronto. We invite you to join us in joyful celebration of this vibrant global city.

Can a festival truly PLAY its city? Enter our theme for 2026.

Be it experiences that evoke child’s play using imagination and whimsy; stories that spotlight justice and reconciliation by boldly addressing themes of equal play through to the uncertainty of shifting dynamics, the need to win and the imbalance of power play.

From playable public art that makes you smile and stare in wonder, hearing breakup stories that mirror the playback tapes of our youth, through to discovering the courage of feminists who feigned their own insanity to play for truth.

Play one, play all, play on.

Toronto becomes a stage this summer, and we invite you to join us.

This festival is particularly special. Across art experiences in theatre, circus, dance, music, opera, public art and film, we transform the city through the theme of PLAY. Running from June 3 – 28, 2026, we proudly present the longest festival in our history, featuring more than 50 free and ticketed events, over 140 performances and more than 25 locations across the city. Luminato 2026 showcases more than 1,000 artists, eight exclusive Canadian commissions and seven world premieres in a celebration that is distinctly Toronto, proudly Canadian, and totally Global.

This festival is a bright reflection of all that is great about Toronto. We invite you to join us in joyful celebration of this vibrant global city.

PREMIER DOUG FORD

Hello and welcome to this year’s Luminato Festival.

Every year, Luminato transforms Toronto with bold, playful and extraordinary art experiences. This year promises to be its biggest one, as we celebrate the festival’s 20th anniversary.

Kudos to the unfailingly creative team behind Luminato for, once again, bringing us this celebration of creativity. Thank you for helping make our province a great place to live and a destination for lovers of art and culture everywhere.

Best wishes for a memorable festival.

THE PRIME MINISTER

I would like to convey my warmest greetings to everyone taking part in the 2026 Luminato Festival.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of this much-anticipated annual event. I am certain that everyone in attendance will enjoy the many exceptional performances planned for this edition of the festival.

I would like to thank the artists taking part for sharing their talents with the community.

I would also like to commend the organizers for ensuring the success of this event, year after year, as well as the volunteers for their role in making this an unforgettable experience for everyone.

I wish you all a wonderful festival.

THE MAYOR

It is my pleasure to welcome everyone attending the 20th anniversary edition of the Luminato Festival.

This festival will span nearly a month and showcase exceptional performances in collaboration with some of Toronto’s leading arts organizations. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Luminato Festival is focusing on a city-wide celebration of art, light and music, highlighting community-focused experiences.

I am pleased that this event is taking place in Toronto and strives to create inclusive experiences and support access to arts and culture.

On behalf of Toronto City Council, please accept my best wishes for an successful and enjoyable event.

Yours truly,

Gustavo Gimeno’s tenure as the tenth Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra began in 2020/21.

Since his appointment, he has reinvigorated the artistic profile of the orchestra, engaged with musicians and audiences alike, and brought performances of familiar works as well as some of today’s freshest sounds. Further, he has overseen renewed community engagement and sown the seeds for an ambitious program of commissioning new works from emerging and established composers.

During the 2025/26 season, Gimeno and the TSO explore major symphonic works—including Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 6, 8, and 9, Prokofiev’s Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5, Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 9—as well as vital compositions from contemporary creators. Gimeno shares the stage with, among other soloists, Lang Lang, María Dueñas, Pablo Ferrández, Abel Selaocoe, and Anoushka Shankar. Highlighting their international presence, Gimeno and the orchestra embark on a six-country European tour, performing with soloists Bruce Liu, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Anna Prohaska, and Christina Landshamer.

February 2024 saw the release of the first commercial recording Gimeno and the TSO made together, in May 2023, memorializing Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie as part of a new multi-disc partnership with Harmonia Mundi. It received the 2025 JUNO Award for Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble). Subsequent recordings with Harmonia Mundi have included Stravinsky’s Pulcinella and Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin. This builds on Gimeno’s relationship with the label, for which he recorded Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, and Stravinsky’s ballets The Firebird and Apollon musagète with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg (OPL).

Gimeno served as Music Director of OPL for a decade, beginning in the 2015/16 season. The 2025/26 season marks his inaugural year as Music Director of Madrid’s Teatro Real. As an opera conductor, he has appeared at renowned houses such as the Liceu Opera Barcelona, Opernhaus Zürich, and Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia. He is also much sought-after as a symphonic guest conductor worldwide: In 2025/26, he débuts with the New York Philharmonic and returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and recent highlights include appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Berliner Philharmoniker.

In March 2025, Gimeno was appointed a Commander of the Order of Civil Merit by His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain. Additionally, following Gimeno’s tenure with OPL, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Luxembourg appointed him an Officer of the Order of Civil and Military Merit of Adolph of Nassau.

Music Director, Toronto Symphony Orchestra Gustavo Gimeno

Jean-Sébastien Vallée is a renowned Canadian-American conductor, scholar, and pedagogue recognized for his expertise in vocal, choral, and orchestral repertoires. With a career spanning over several decades, Vallée has conducted numerous ensembles across North America, Europe, and Asia, and has collaborated with some of the world's most prestigious orchestras including the Boston, Chicago and Toronto Symphony Orchestras, l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.

Dr. Vallée is Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the renowned 170-voice Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the professional chamber ensemble, the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers. In addition, Jean-Sébastien is Full Professor of Music, Director of Choral Studies, and Coordinator of the Conducting & Ensembles Area at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University. He has previously served as the Director of Choral Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, and was on the choral faculty of the University of Redlands.

Vallée’s recordings have been broadcast internationally and include Remember (ATMA, 2024), Distance (ATMA, 2021), Requiem (ATMA, 2018 - requiems by Fauré and Duruflé), and Lux (ATMA, 2017).

Most recently, he was honoured with the 2025 Université Laval Distinguished Alumnus Award as well as the Order of Choral Merit, the highest distinction awarded by the Alliance chorale du Québec, recognizing his exceptional career, his deep commitment to musical and community leadership, and his significant role in shaping the future of classical music.

In the upcoming season, Maestro Vallée will return to the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and make his debut with the Seattle Symphony and the Pacific Symphony.

Conductor Jean-Sébastien Vallée