Founded in 1998, the Canadian Sinfonietta (CS) is a chamber orchestra led by conductor and founder, Tak-Ng Lai in partnership with concertmaster and artistic director Joyce Lai. The orchestra is comprised of 14-25 professional musicians who perform both as a large ensemble and in small ensembles.

The mission of the Canadian Sinfonietta is to attract a new generation of concert goers by presenting concerts that have a balance of traditional and newly composed or culturally interesting programs. Our concerts are both accessible as well as new and fresh. Our programs often feature interdisciplinary artistic presentations, multi-cultural music, non-western instruments and highlight diverse Canadian artists.

In addition to a regular series of professional concerts, the CS is proud of our YOUTH MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. We have two youth orchestras. The CS Youth Orchestra (csyo.ca) program includes a full senior orchestra and a junior string orchestra. In addition to their own concerts, some selected members join the orchestra each year for the annual Young Artist Concert. Also on the concert, we showcase our Canadian Sinfonietta Young Artist Competition winners as well winners from our partnership with the Unionville Music Academy Competition.

CS is a community conscious group and plays an active role through partnership with local community groups. We are a recipient of the New Horizons Grant from the government of Canada which enables us to play an active role in the lives of seniors, both by bringing them to our concerts, as well as performing at various senior centres around the GTA.