Music
This Toronto classical ensemble performs pop-up concerts in living rooms, office buildings and hair salons
This piece originally appeared in Toronto Life magazine.
Last Saturday, Toronto couple Paula Arciniega and Matt Brooks turned their 2,300-square-foot Wallace Emerson loft into a concert hall. Fifty guests piled into their living room to watch Pocket Concerts, a custom chamber ensemble, put on a pop-up symphony show. “Chamber music is portable,” says Rory McLeod, 33, a violist who plays frequently with the Canadian Opera Company and National Ballet orchestras. He shares Pocket Concerts’ artistic director duties with his wife, Emily Rho. The goal, McLeod says, is “to make classical music as accessible as possible.” Here’s a closer look at what went into last weekend’s musical salon.