The Toronto Music Garden is a public garden on Toronto’s central waterfront, on Queens Quay West. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy planned it as a walk through Bach’s Suite for Unaccompanied Cello No. 1 in G major, with one garden section for each of the suite’s six movements. Heritage Toronto records that it was officially opened on June 10, 1999.
The garden began as an idea for Boston and ended up in Toronto. It is a City of Toronto park, and Harbourfront Centre, the cultural organization next door, uses it for a summer series of concerts.
Who designed the Toronto Music Garden
Two people are named as the creators in every source read for this article. Yo-Yo Ma is the cellist who took part in the project. Julie Moir Messervy is a landscape designer whose studio works on gardens and public spaces. Wikipedia’s entry on Harbourfront Centre says the garden was “designed by Yo Yo Ma and Julie Moir Messervy”. Heritage Toronto puts it more carefully: Ma worked with Messervy, and the Canadian designer Thomas Tollefson created the pavilion.
Tollefson’s brief had one condition, according to Heritage Toronto: there were to be no straight lines. The same entry notes that Yo-Yo Ma performed at the opening, together with performers from Toronto’s Opera Atelier.
From a film to a Toronto park
The idea comes from a film. The travel guide A View on Cities reports that in 1997 Ma and Messervy made “The Music Garden”, part of the series “Inspired by Bach”, in which the music of the first cello suite was interpreted in a garden. A Boston garden was proposed next, but that project fell through. The same guide says the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation Board then agreed to sponsor the garden, and several other tourism sources repeat that account. A different source, a trade-press profile of Messervy’s studio, says local donors helped to get it built. The two statements are not in conflict: the City supplied the site and sponsorship, and private donors contributed money. This article has not been able to read a City or Harbourfront document that gives the funding in detail.
Heritage Toronto places the garden in a longer story. The central waterfront was cut off from the public for decades, first by railway tracks and then by the Gardiner Expressway. Heritage Toronto presents the garden within that history of the shoreline. That wider history is covered in the article on the harbour and waterfront.
The six sections and Bach’s movements
Bach’s first cello suite is built from a prelude followed by five dances. The garden gives each movement its own room. The descriptions below come from the City of Toronto and the travel guide A View on Cities; the City’s own page is brief, and the section details rest mostly on the guide.
| Movement | Garden section |
|---|---|
| Prelude | A winding river-like path laid out as a stream bed of granite boulders, with a line of hackberry trees spaced like measures of music. |
| Allemande (a German dance) | A forest grove of birch trees with wandering trails. |
| Courante (a French dance) | An upward spiral through a field of grasses and perennials, with a maypole at the top. |
| Sarabande (a Spanish dance) | A curved grove of conifers around a large rock that serves as a stage for readings, next to a small reflecting pool. |
| Menuett | A symmetrical area with a small circular pavilion for dancers or small ensembles. |
| Gigue (an English dance) | Wide grass steps facing the harbour, forming a curved amphitheatre around a stone stage. |
The City of Toronto describes the garden in one sentence on its public gardens page: it is inspired by Yo-Yo Ma and features native and ornamental perennials, grasses, flowering shrubs, and wrought iron features representing Bach’s Suite No. 1.
Facts that sources do not agree on
| Item | What the sources say |
|---|---|
| Street number | The City of Toronto’s parks listings and Harbourfront Centre’s event pages give 479 Queens Quay West. Heritage Toronto writes 475 Queen’s Quay, and the guide A View on Cities writes 475 Queens Quay West. |
| Size | Tourism sources give about three acres in one place and about 2.5 acres in another. This article does not state a figure for that reason. |
| Construction years | The film dates from 1997 according to A View on Cities. Heritage Toronto says the garden was completed in 1999, with the official opening on June 10, 1999. |
Concerts and visiting
Harbourfront Centre presents a series called Summer Music in the Garden at the site, with chamber, early music, and world music acts. A listing for a 2023 concert by the Toronto baroque orchestra Tafelmusik is one example. Dates, admission, and seating rules change every season, so the Harbourfront Centre site is the place to check them. The City of Toronto’s park permit page also sets rules for weddings and photography in the garden; it should be read before planning an event.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Toronto Music Garden?
It is a public garden on Queens Quay West in downtown Toronto whose six sections follow the six movements of Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1. It opened on June 10, 1999.
Who designed the Toronto Music Garden?
Julie Moir Messervy designed it with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Thomas Tollefson created the pavilion.
What is a music garden?
The term is used here for a garden whose layout is meant to translate a piece of music into paths, plants, and spaces. In Toronto the idea began with the 1997 film.
Where is the Toronto Music Garden?
It is on Queens Quay West, close to Harbourfront Centre. The City of Toronto lists the address as 479 Queens Quay West.
Is the Toronto Music Garden worth a visit?
For visitors interested in design, music, or the waterfront, the answer is yes. The six sections can be walked in order in a short visit, and the Gigue steps end the walk with a view of the harbour. Opening conditions and concert times should be taken from Harbourfront Centre or the City of Toronto.
Related reading
- Visiting Toronto: landmarks and districts
- History of the harbour and the waterfront
- Union Station and its neighbourhood
- Ontario Place and the lakefront
- Rogers Centre on the waterfront
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Heritage Toronto, “Toronto Music Garden (leisure)”
- City of Toronto, Horticulture and Garden Parks listing
- Harbourfront Centre event pages for Summer Music in the Garden
- A View on Cities, “Music Garden, Toronto” (secondary travel guide, used for section descriptions)
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Toronto Music Garden: Design, Bach and History. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-music-garden
MLA: “Toronto Music Garden: Design, Bach and History.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-music-garden. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Toronto Music Garden: Design, Bach and History.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-music-garden.
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