Susan Toman

Susan Toman’s lifelong passion for Baroque music began on the piano before shifting into dedicated harpsichord studies by the end of her master’s degree at the University of Michigan. She achieved recognition as a prize winner at the 2007 Brugge International Harpsichord Competition, and earned her Doctorate in Music in harpsichord from McGill University in 2009. As a student, she participated in baroque summer institutes at Casa Mateus in Portugal, the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute in Toronto, and the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute in the USA.

From 2011 to 2014, Susan co-directed La Compagnie Baroque Mont-Royal in Montreal alongside tenor David Menzies. During that period, her performing included prominent early music festivals in Montreal, Bloomington, Rochester, and London, complemented by numerous lecture-recitals across Canada and the United States.

Based in Ottawa since 2014, Susan is a vibrant pillar of the local arts scene. She performs frequently as both a soloist and collaborator with esteemed ensembles such as the Ottawa Bach Choir, Theatre of Early Music, Thirteen Strings, and Music & Beyond. Deeply committed to community engagement, she also hosts an intimate house concert series featuring high-caliber chamber music.

Alongside a busy performance schedule, Susan maintains a thriving teaching studio for harpsichord, piano, and harp. She serves on the performance faculty at Carleton University and teaches occasionally at the University of Ottawa. She has served as adjudicator for music festivals in Ottawa and Belleville, Ontario. Her diverse discography features acclaimed harpsichord recordings such as Rameau's “Nouvelles suites de clavecin” and “Road to the Isles.”