Canadian Opera Company will host its annual “Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition & Gala” fundraiser on Oct. 22, 2026, at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto.

The evening, themed around the “Art of Opera,” benefits the company’s Ensemble Studio program for emerging artists and pairs a vocal competition with an onstage gala dinner. The event is co-chaired by Krista Halder, chief executive of KBM Luxury Residences, and Andrea Bellefeuille, a COC board director.

The Ensemble Studio Competition marks the final stage of a months long national audition tour supported by Pamela and Paul Austin and the P. Austin Family Foundation. Finalists will perform accompanied by the COC Orchestra under Music Director Johannes Debus for a judging panel and a live audience, both in the hall and via livestream, with attendees able to cast votes in real time for an Audience Prize.

Composer Ian Cusson, a former COC composer-in-residence, will host the competition. Judges include Roberto Mauro, the company’s artistic director; Dorian Cox, director of the Ensemble Studio; Liz Upchurch, head of music for the Ensemble Studio; along with guest judges, soprano Adrianne Pieczonka and vocal teacher Edith Wiens.