SING! The Toronto International Vocal Arts Festival runs May 19 to June 1, 2026, and the 15th edition is the most ambitious yet. More than 20 events spread across Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum, Koerner Hall, The Rec Room and The Great Hall make up a program that covers everything from jazz and soul to beatboxing and Broadway, all anchored by the human voice. Tickets range from free to $61.50, with half-price options for students and arts workers, and the full schedule is at singtoronto.com.
The festival opens May 19 at The Great Hall with Art Battle, where painters respond live to a cappella performance, setting the tone for a program that consistently finds new ways to frame vocal music. A free preview follows May 20 at Nathan Phillips Square, and free concerts at College Park on May 21 keep the early days of the festival wide open and accessible.
The competitive heart of the festival lands May 23 at Koerner Hall with the second annual SING! Canadian A Cappella Championships, featuring 16 finalist groups and a judging panel that includes Deke Sharon, producer of the Pitch Perfect films and The Sing-Off, alongside vocal coaches Elaine Overholt and Mo Field. The following afternoon, Sharon returns to the Royal Ontario Museum for an Aca-Singalong with 2025 championship winners Splüsh, guiding Pitch Perfect fans through “Since U Been Gone” entirely a cappella.
May 22 brings one of the festival’s most emotionally charged nights. Countermeasure, one of Canada’s top contemporary a cappella ensembles, plays their final concert, One More Spin, at The Paradise Theatre, closing out 16 years of international recording and touring. It’s a significant moment for Canadian vocal music, and SING! is the right place for it.
The Great North Beatbox Festival, presented by Beatbox Canada, takes over The Rec Room across three days from May 29 to 31, marking the largest celebration of beatboxing in North America. Performances, workshops and showcases fill the weekend with a different but equally vital dimension of vocal artistry.
The festival closes June 1 at the Royal Ontario Museum with SING! With Pride, an official Pride Toronto Major Cultural event featuring legendary Swedish quintet The Real Group and Toronto’s Singing Out Chamber Ensemble, hosted by Broadway and Stratford star Thom Allison. The evening also includes the presentation of the SING! Toronto Legacy Award to Canadian jazz icon Heather Bambrick, recognizing decades of outstanding performances and her influence on singers worldwide.
Launched in 2012 by seven volunteers, SING! has grown into one of Ontario’s Top 100 Festivals and Events for the past decade, with co-founders Patricia Silver and Patti Jannetta inducted into the Festival and Events Ontario Hall of Fame. The festival has since expanded to partner festivals in Texas, Edinburgh, Mexico, Edmonton and Vancouver. Fifteen years in, it remains one of the most distinctive music events in the country.
Festival Highlights:
May 19 – Toronto – The Great Hall – Art Battle
May 20 – Toronto – Nathan Phillips Square – Free Preview (5:30–7:30 pm)
May 21 – Toronto – College Park – Free Concerts (5–7 pm)
May 22 – Toronto – The Paradise Theatre – Countermeasure: One More Spin (7:30 pm)
May 23 – Toronto – Koerner Hall – SING! Canadian A Cappella Championships (7 pm)
May 24 – Toronto – Royal Ontario Museum – Aca-Singalong with Deke Sharon (1 pm)
May 24 – Toronto – Royal Ontario Museum – Pass the Mic Open Stage Night (7 pm)
May 29–31 – Toronto – The Rec Room – Great North Beatbox Festival
June 1 – Toronto – Royal Ontario Museum – SING! With Pride (7:30 pm)