Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

Founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1947, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) stands in the Canadian musical landscape as an active symphony orchestra, engaged in both the great classical repertoire and contemporary creation. Based at the Centennial Concert Hall since 1968, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra also provides accompaniment for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Manitoba Opera, which places its activity within a broad practice of the orchestral stage. Its history includes several musical directors, from Walter Kaufmann to Daniel Raiskin, including Victor Feldbrill, Piero Gamba, Kazuhiro Koizumi, Bramwell Tovey, Andrey Boreyko, and Alexander Mickelthwate. Under the leadership of Bramwell Tovey and composer Glenn Buhr, the orchestra launched in 1992 the WSO New Music Festival, a gathering devoted to contemporary writings. The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra has also developed a discography that documents both its grounding in the repertoire and its interest in Canadian composers, including The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (1977), Kunzel on Broadway (1985), Mozartiana (1993), Winter Poems (1999), Symphony No. 9 (2006) and I believe: a Holocaust Oratorio for Today (2009). Through its regular activity in Winnipeg and on tour, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra articulates the symphonic tradition, stage music, and contemporary programming within a lasting institutional framework.