The orchestra's program is all about optimism and looking ahead, opening with beautiful melodies in three dances by Puccini and Rachmaninoff's famous "Vocalise" before moving into a  work Shostakovich himself called "spring-like".  Toronto composer Saman Shahi's "Suspended Doorways" was inspired by Northern Ontario First Nation artist Michael Cywink's painting titled "It is what it is. Imperfections are doorways."  The concert will close with an orchestral version of Schubert's String Quartet No. 9 in G minor, a compelling musical triumph of light over dark.

Tamara Harutyunyan is a Toronto artist known for her on-stage translations of musical performances into vibrant paintings; she has participated in many classical, folk and jazz performances, bringing instrumental colours and the curves of melody to a visual life on canvas. May 7 will be her third collaboration with Sinfonia Toronto.