Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra gave its first performance on 16 December 1948 in the Civic Auditorium under conductor Walter Kaufmann. He was succeeded in 1958 by Victor Feldbrill, who was one of the first Canadian musicians to lead a Canadian orchestra. Over the next decade, Feldbrill established the WSO as a full-time orchestra. In 1968 the WSO moved to the Manitoba Centennial Concert Hall and appointed George Cleve as music director for the 1969-70 season.

Piero Gamba became music director in 1971, a position he held until the fall of 1980. In 1979 he led the WSO in a gala concert at Carnegie Hall. Kazuhiro Koizumi became music director in 1983, and in the 6 years he served with the WSO the orchestra's subscriber base rose to more than 10 000 patrons. Bramwell Tovey was appointed artistic director in 1989. Together with Glenn Buhr, the WSO's first composer-in-residence, he cofounded the internationally renowned du Maurier New Music Festival, which debuted in January 1992. Since its inception, the Festival has been a great success, drawing international participation and earning critical acclaim. Music from the first 2 festivals is recorded on the WSO compact disc, Collage. In the 1996-97 season, Winnipeg composer Randolph Peters was appointed to the post of composer-in-residence, and he has continued to program the Festival during his tenure.

In 1999 the WSO had a nucleus of 67 musicians, augmented by extra instrumentalists as required. Through its "Adventures in Music" series, the orchestra performs for approximately 11 000 elementary-school students in southern Manitoba.

In 2001, following the departure of Bramwell Tovey, Andrey Boreyko was appointed music director of the WSO.