The Royal Conservatory's Koerner Hall in Toronto has announced its 2013–14 concert season, the organization's fifth anniversary season, which will feature performances from several artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Audra McDonald, Shawn Colvin, Chris Thile, Rokia Traoré, and Fatoumata Diawara.

Audra McDonald starts things off with Koerner Hall's season sold-out opening gala concert on Saturday, September 28, 2013. McDonald released first album in seven years, Go Back Home, earlier this year, featuring songs by composers with whom she has long been associated (Adam Guettel, Michael John LaChiusa, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim); some, like the Kander & Ebb title track, relatively new to her repertoire; and an emerging generation of composers.

Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter bring their duo show to Toronto on Thursday, October 17. As part of their fall tour, the singer/songwriters and long-time friends share the stage as an intimate duo, performing material spanning their vast catalogues as well as some of their favorite songs. Colvin released her eighth studio album, All Fall Down, on Nonesuch last year, the same day she release her first-ever memoir, Diamond in the Rough.

The following week, on Friday, October 25, mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile performs a concert at Koerner Hall as part of his North American solo tour, following the release of his new album, Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1, on Nonesuch Records on August 6. The album, which is available for pre-order now in the Nonesuch Store, includes three Bach works written for solo violin: Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001; Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002; and Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003.

The forthcoming Koerner Hall concert season includes performances by artists from 23 countries, among them two unique artists from Mali: Rokia Traoré and Fatoumata Diawara.

Rokia Traoré, whose new album, Beautiful Africa, was released on Nonesuch in Canada and Europe earlier this year and is due out in the US this fall, performs songs from the album at Koerner Hall on Wednesday, November 27. The album earns five stars from the Observer, Guardian, and Songlines, which raves: "It really doesn’t get better than this in today’s African music ... Rokia’s work is exciting, surprising, and always perfectly executed."

Fatoumata Diawara, whose summer tour of North America brings her to Chicago's Millennium Park tonight, continues the music making into next year with a Koerner Hall performance on Saturday, February 1, 2014. Diawara's debut album, Fatou, was released in Canada and the US last year, leading Pitchfork to describe it as "beguiling" and the Washington Post to say "her well-crafted songs are quietly powerful." Also performing that evening is her compatriot jeli ngoni player Bassekou Koyate, who is among the featured players on the 2010 World Circuit / Nonesuch Records album AfroCubism.

Also included in the upcoming season, on Saturday, December 7, is a celebration of the music of Frank Sinatra and Paolo Conte, who released a best-of collection on Nonesuch in 1998 and the album Rêveries in 2003.

Tickets are on sale now for The Royal Conservatory's 2013–14 Koerner Hall concert season. For additional details on the complete Koerner Hall season and ticket information, go to performance.rcmusic.ca. For more upcoming tour dates on these and other Nonesuch artists, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.