Noteworthy

When the opening notes of the Blue Jays’ World Series anthem landed on October 23, 2025, there was something familiar behind their stadium-sized sound.

That was the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Just days before the World Series began, members of the TSO gathered at Roy Thomson Hall to record a hype video featuring an orchestral arrangement of Queen’s “I Want It All”. Led by TSO RBC Resident Conductor & Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra Conductor Nicholas Sharma, the musicians helped turn the rock anthem into a soundtrack for a city suddenly dreaming very big.

The arrangement was created by Matthew Freeman and previously appeared on the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Symphonic Queen album. In the hands of the TSO, it found a new purpose: capturing the anticipation, pride, and nervous energy surrounding the Blue Jays’ first World Series appearance since 1993.

Filmed live at the hall and produced by the Toronto Blue Jays, the video brought two familiar Toronto institutions together at a moment when baseball seemed to be everywhere—in crowded bars, on living-room televisions, and in every hopeful conversation about what might happen next.

It also continued a memorable MLB postseason for the orchestra. Earlier in the run, TSO musicians stepped onto the field at Rogers Centre to perform the national anthems before Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. A few days later, their sound was following the Jays all the way to baseball’s biggest stage.

For an orchestra, timing is everything. So is listening closely, moving together, and building toward a moment that feels larger than any one person. Baseball fans may recognize the feeling.

Take a closer look at the collaboration below.