It starts with a single voice.
As the first light filters into Union Station, an unexpected sound rises above the morning rush. A lone singer's voice drifts through the concourse. Then another joins in. And another. Choirs, hidden throughout the station, begin to sing—turning Toronto's busiest transit hub into a living, breathing symphony.
Under the visionary direction of opera director Krystian Lada (among others Ruhrtriennale, La Monnaie, Theater Basel), this immersive performance transforms the everyday into the extraordinary. Commuters are invited to wander, follow the music, and discover choral groups throughout the station's tunnels, walkways, and halls. Songs from across cultures weave together, echoing through the vast architecture. The music builds, carrying listeners up through the concourse and into the grandeur of the Great Hall, where all choruses join to perform together the iconic song "Dawn Chorus" written by Thom Yorke (arrangement by Rafał Ryterski), unfolding beneath its towering windows.
As the first event of Luminato 2025, Dawn Chorus is an awakening. A moment to pause, listen and feel the city coming to life.
Don't just pass through—be part of it.
