Mission:
To ensure the continued existence of major symphony orchestras in North America through volunteerism.
2026 CONFERENCE
Association of Major Symphony Orchestra Volunteers
45th Biennial Conference
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
May 13-17, 2026
Our next AMSOV Biennial Conference will be held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from May 13 through 17, 2026. Here is some preliminary information about the Conference and Toronto in general.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Toronto was founded as the Town of York and capital of Upper Canada in 1793 after the first nation, Mississaugas, surrendered the land to the British in the Toronto Purchase. For over 12,000 years, Indigenous People had lived in the Toronto area. The new capital was named York on August 27, 1793. In 1804, settler Angus MacDonald petitioned the Upper Canada Legislature to restore the name Toronto, but this was rejected. To differentiate it from York in England and New York City, the town was known as Little York. During the Warof 1812, between the United States and England, York wasOccupied and burnt by the America Army in retaliation for the burning of the White House by the British.
Fairmont Royal York Hotel
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Gustavo Gimeno, conductor
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is now in its 101st year as the leading symphony orchestra in Canada. Its conductor, Gustavo Gimeno, is in his 14th year as Music Director of the orchestra. He has also conducted with many other orchestras including the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouworkest, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, and the Dallas and Cincinnati symphony orchestras.
Roy Thomson Hall
Roy Thomson Hall opened in the fall of 1982 after years of planning and fund raising, The architects were Arthur Erickson and Mather and Haldenby. Violinist Itzhak Perlman acts as a special advisor to the architects to ensure accessibility at all levels for disabled performers and patrons. The hall seats 2630 guests and features a 5300 pipe, organ built by a Canadian organ builder from London, Ontario. The hall is one of the main venues used by the Toronto International Film Festival, with many gala screenings held there each year including a festival-closing screening of the year’s People's Choice Award winner.
Massey Hall - The Original Site
Massey Hall, known as “Canada’s Carnegie Hall,” is Canada’s oldest and most venerated concert hall. Opened in 1894 it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Massey Hall was a gift to the people of Toronto from industrialist Hart Massey. He did not want the music hall to make large profits, he wanted both rich and poor to attend events. It has now been completely renovated, seats 2,752 patrons and serves as a concert hall for all types of music venues and lecture hall for prominent world figures.
In 1973, Toronto City Council designated Massey Hall a Heritage Property under the province's Ontario Heritage Act. Massey Hall was designated a National Historic Site of Canada on June 15, 1981. Gordon Lightfoot played the hall over 170 times in his career, the most of any artist, including both the last show in 2018 before it was closed for renovations and the first show after it reopened in 2021. Speakers at the hall have included William Booth, Winston Churchill, Helen Keller, Thomas Mann and the Dalai Lama. Comics have included Jerry Seinfeld and Russell Peters.
Distillery District
The pedestrian-only Distillery District, set in quaint 19th century buildings that once housed a large whiskey distillery, draws crowds to its cobblestone streets lined with hip indie restaurants, bars and boutiques. Art lovers come for the galleries, outdoor sculptures and dance, music and stage performances at the area's several theatres. The Distillery District is an internationally acclaimed village of one-of-a-kind stores, shops, galleries, studios, restaurants, cafes, theatres and more. The Distillery Historic District opened in 2003 and today it is widely regarded as Canada's premiere arts, culture and entertainment destination.
Royal Conservatory of Music
•The Royal Conservatory of Music, branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Conservatory of Music.
Art Gallery of Ontario
With a collection of more than 90,000 works of art, the Art Gallery of Ontario is among the most distinguished art museums in North America. Its collection of famous Canadian artists such as the Group of Seven, and Indigenous Artists such as the Morriseau family, draws visitors worldwide.
Niagara on the Lake / Niagara Falls
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in southern Ontario. It sits on the shores of Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the Niagara River. It's known for its wineries and the summer Shaw Festival, a series of theatre productions. The flower-filled, tree-lined old town features 19th-century buildings, mainly along Queen Street near the river, sits the 19th-century Fort George, which was very active in the War of 1812.
Flat Iron Building
In 1891, the Gooderham family wanted local residents to recognize their success and the success of their distillery business, so they commissioned the family architect, David Roberts, to build them a grander office space. At a cost of $18,000, an unusual Gothic Romanesque structure was built at the intersection of Front, Wellington, and Church Streets on a triangular piece of land.
The five-story red brick building was one of the grandest of its time, with twelve-foot high ceilings, brass fittings, and the very first manually-operated Otis elevator in the city of Toronto. A walk-in vault was constructed to hold the Gooderham riches, and a tunnel was dug so that those in charge could travel from the building to the bank across the street (which Gooderham purchased) without having to walk outside with large bags of cash.
What many do not realize is that Toronto’s Flatiron actually preceded New York’s famous Flatiron Building by more than ten years, though the one in NYC gets much more publicity than Toronto’s version.
Registration is not yet open for the 45th Biennial AMSOV Conference in Toronto, so the registration button below is not live, but watch this space as the Conference dates draw near. We hope to see you there!