In-School Ensemble Performances

Bach to School is an in-school program where ensemble groups of the WSO perform and interact with students right in their own gymnasiums. Each ensemble group shares two 35-minute presentations with various grade levels of students inviting them to experience music from the Renaissance to the current day. During these presentations, the musicians invite the students to play the instruments, conduct the ensemble group, or clap along to a familiar movie theme. At each presentation, the ensemble invites students to ask questions about the group, their instruments or the music.

Prior to each presentation, the school receives a Bach to School Study Guide, which contains teaching materials intended to introduce the students to the program and to the specific instrument groups (string, brass, woodwind or percussion).

11-12 Season Dates:
Sept 29 10:00am
Nov 15 10:00am & 1:00pm
Nov 29 1:00pm
Feb 9 10:00am & 1:00pm
May 9 10:00am

FEBRUARY 10, 11   8:00 PM
FEBRUARY 12   2:00 PM

Richard Lee, conductor
Gavin Hope, lead vocals
Jeans ’n Classics Band:
Kathryn Rose – vocals
Lis Soderberg – vocals
Katalin Kiss – vocals
Peter Brennan – guitar
Donald Paulton – keyboard
Mitch Tyler – bass
Jeff Christmas – drums

“It was with great pleasure that we put together this tribute to Michael Jackson. As we thought about his incredible gifts and legacy we knew this show must happen….and we love it. It is a pure celebration of Michael Jackson’s staggering talent and the great music he created. We go back to the earliest Motown days of the Jackson Five and include ABC and the beautiful I’ll Be There.

As Michael broke away from the group he created amazing material, some of which we present from ‘Off The Wall’ before finally stepping into some of the best material from the Thriller and Bad albums.” – Peter Brennan, artistic director, Jeans ‘n Classics

With Michael Jackson classics like Billy Jean, Off the Wall, Beat It, The Way You Make Me Feel, Thriller, Ben, Never Can Say Goodbye, Man in the Mirror and so much more, this show will have you reaching for your white glove and sparkle shoes so you can dance up a storm in the aisles.

With four albums, constant touring, and a Juno nomination, Michael Jackson tribute artist Gavin Hope ventured into theatre, where highlights include RENT, and having the opportunity to play the role of Simba in the original Canadian company production of The Lion King.

MUSICIANS IN THE MAKING: Come and listen to various student groups perform on the Piano Nobile Level 45 minutes prior to concert.

DINNER & A SYMPHONY: Enjoy the return of Dinner & A Symphony with Bergmann’s on Lombard for our February 11 concert with American Cuisine, 3-course meal on the Piano Nobile at 5:30 pm. Dinner and concert start at $85!

Single tickets are on sale now at the WSO Box Office, 949-3999 or online.

A gourmet journey of fine food and symphony music in partnership with Bergmann’s on Lombard all in one location at the Centennial Concert Hall.

With Michael Jackson classics like Billy Jean, Off the Wall, Beat It, The Way You Make Me Feel, Thriller, Ben, Never Can Say Goodbye, Man in the Mirror and so much more, this show will have you reaching for your white glove and sparkle shoes so you can dance up a storm in the aisles.

Menu for Valentine’s weekend with American cuisine
“BLT” Cobb Style Salad with Mustard Dressing

Thyme-Butter Rubbed & Roasted Turkey, Sultana-Sage Dressing, Cranberry Speckled Pan Gravy, Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

or Vegetarian: Classic Mac & Cheese

Red Velvet Cake with Old Fashioned Cream Cheese Frosting

Premium Roast Coffee/Tea Service

Fresh Baked Breads & Butter

Doors – 5:00 pm
Dinner – 5:30 pm
Concert – 8:00 pm

Prices:
$85 per person for each evening (includes a meal and a ticket to the concert for Section 4 seating)
$60 per person for those who already have a ticket to the concert

FEBRUARY 17, 18   8:00 PM

John Estacio: Bootlegger’s Tarantella
Barber: Violin Concerto
Bernstein: On the Town: Three Dance Episodes
Copland: Appalachian Spring

Larry Rachleff, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin

“A take-charge maestro who invests everything he conducts with deep musical understanding.” – Chicago Tribune

“Mr. Hadelich stands out amid gifted young violinists for his prodigious technique, gorgeous tone and his ability to deliver well-known works with a distinctive interpretive flair.” – New York Times

North American composers are featured in this colourful and vividly themed program. We welcome fast-rising star Augustin Hadelich in his WSO debut along with Larry Rachleff, a world-renowned conducting teacher and among America’s most communicative conductors.

Opening the program is rousing music from Canadian composer John Estacio’s opera, Filumena, the Bootlegger’s Tarantella, followed by Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto which is a landmark American Romantic work ripe with virtuosity for the soloist. In Leonard Bernstein’s On the Town, we go to razzmatazz New York City, inimitably scored as only Bernstein could.

Written for Martha Graham’s dance company, Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring is the story of love and marriage: poignant and quiet, spiritual and joyful with its famous Shaker theme Simple Gifts a part of American vernacular.

MASTERWORKS A: Pre-Concert Chat hosted by music director Alexander Mickelthwate or guest conductors on the Piano Nobile Level at 7:15 pm.

Single tickets are on sale now at the WSO Box Office, 949-3999 or online.

FEBRUARY 19   3:00 PM
Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium, Brandon, MB

John Estacio: Bootlegger’s Tarantella
Barber: Violin Concerto
Bernstein: On the Town: Three Dance Episodes
Copland: Appalachian Spring

Larry Rachleff, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin

“Mr. Hadelich stands out amid gifted young violinists for his prodigious technique, gorgeous tone and his ability to deliver well-known works with a distinctive interpretive flair.” – New York Times

North American composers are featured in this colourful and vividly themed program. We welcome fast-rising star Augustin Hadelich in his WSO debut along with Larry Rachleff, a world-renowned conducting teacher.

Opening the program is rousing music from Canadian composer John Estacio’s opera, Filumena, the Bootlegger’s Tarantella, followed by Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto, which is a landmark American Romantic work, ripe with virtuosity for the soloist. In Leonard Bernstein’s On the Town, we go to razzmatazz New York City, inimitably scored as only Bernstein could.

Written for Martha Graham’s dance company, Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring is the story of love and marriage: poignant and quiet, spiritual and joyful with its famous Shaker theme Simple Gifts a part of American vernacular.

PRE-CONCERT CHATS: Hosted by music director Alexander Mickelthwate or a guest conductor in the lobby at 2:15 pm.

Brandon single tickets are available for purchase through the Brandon box office at 204.728.9510 or at the Brandon Ticketmaster Keystone Centre at (204) 726.3555. To purchase online, visit wmca.ca.

Download the 2011-2012 Brandon brochure HERE!

WSO in Brandon Exclusive Sponsor:

Education Concert Series

The Adventures in Music program has grown to become the musical event of the year for many students and teachers in Manitoba. This highly successful program has more than 15,000 students from across Manitoba participating annually. The program provides exciting on-stage opportunities for students and teachers to interact with the symphony through movement and song. Planned with the elementary school music curriculum in mind, students learn the concert repertoire in their classrooms prior to the performances.

Bring your Grade 4-6 students to explore the world of music through movement and dance! Based on a popular past program, students will discover how music inspires dance, imagery, movies and movement. Featuring an aerial artist, a variety of dancers, and elementary student performers, this concert will be educational and engaging for everyone!

Winnipeg Concert Schedule

Feb 22 1:00pm
Feb 23 10:30am & 1:00pm
Mar 13 10:30am & 1:00pm
Mar 14 10:30am
Mar 14 1:00pm (en francais)
Mar 15 10:30am

Location: Manitoba Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg

Check back for the 11-12 Order Form – Winnipeg

Rural Concert Schedule

Apr 11 10:30am & 1:00pm (location TBD)
May 8 10:45am & 1:15pm (Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium, Brandon)

Check back for the 11-12 Order Form – Rural

Workshop
The WSO is proud to work with the Manitoba Orff Chapter to present a Listening Workshop with Marcelline Moody on Friday, September 30, 2011. The workshop will highlight the Music in Motion program for the upcoming season.

Check back for the 11-12 Workshop Registration Form – Winnipeg

Brandon Workshop
The WSO is proud to work with the Manitoba Orff Chapter to once again present a Listening Workshop in Brandon with Marcelline Moody on Monday, October 3, 2009. The workshop will highlight the Music in Motion program for the upcoming season.

Check back for the 11-12 Workshop Registration Form – Brandon

Artwork and Poetry Submissions

Do your students enjoy being inspired by music to write or create art? Find out how to have your students’ paintings and poems featured during this year’s Adventures in Music concerts!

Winnipeg

Check back for the 11-12 Student Artwork Information – Winnipeg

Check back for the 11-12 Student Poetry Information – Winnipeg

Brandon

Check back for the 11-12 Student Artwork Information – Brandon

Check back for the 11-12 Student Poetry Information – Brandon

The acclaimed series from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25   8:00 PM

Richard Lee, conductor

We are proud to introduce our audience to this acclaimed and exciting multi-media presentation created by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra that brings a major classical work to both new and veteran listeners using live theatre, a screen presentation, actors and a host followed by a complete performance of the work.

Dvořák’s New World Symphony is one of the most popular pieces of orchestral music ever written. For North Americans, this is the first great symphony about America memorably using Indigenous sources.

You’ll see, hear and learn how this symphony grew out of Dvořák’s abandoned opera based on Longfellow’s Hiawatha epic, and how Longfellow’s inspiration itself mixes North American and European stories. In this symphony, the echoes of many different nations mix with one another to produce a rainbow of music, a vision of many colours and identities, presented to bring you closer to this masterpiece than you ever thought possible.

MUSICIANS IN THE MAKING: Come and listen to various student groups perform on the Piano Nobile Level at 7:15 pm.

Single tickets are on sale now at the WSO Box Office, 949-3999 or online.

FRIDAY, MARCH 2   10:30 AM

Alexander Mickelthwate, conductor

Schumann’s ‘Spring’ Symphony is an exuberant work the composer started just after marrying his famous soul-mate Clara Wieck, composing it in a “state of bliss” as he said. Youthful joie de vivre pervades this supremely happy creation.

About Matinée Concerts:

• Learn about a masterwork introduced by the conductor
• Hear the conductor’s comments in an open rehearsal
• Enjoy a complete performance
• Participate in a question and answer session
• All in one hour!

Single tickets are on sale now at the WSO Box Office, 949-3999 or online.

FRIDAY, MARCH 2   8:00 PM

Schumann: Symphony No. 1 (Spring)
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2

Alexander Mickelthwate, conductor
Jon Kimura Parker, piano

“The Canadian pianist (Jon Kimura Parker) has the technical chops… and he also has the strength and suppleness of line, variety of touch and generosity of feeling to make its many tunes take wing.” – Chicago Tribune

Legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz, who played and recorded Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with his father-in-law conductor Arturo Toscanini, called it `the greatest music ever written for piano.’ Epic in scope, a symphony with solo, supremely dramatic yet hauntingly beautiful…this concerto ranks among the titans of its realm, and we are honoured to have the exciting Canadian pianist Jon Kimura Parker to perform it.

Composer Robert Schumann is a natural pairing with Brahms for it was Schumann who became one of the most influential people in Brahms’s life. Schumann’s ‘Spring’ Symphony is an exuberant work the composer started just after marrying his famous soul-mate Clara Wieck, composing it in a “state of bliss” as he said. Youthful joie de vivre pervades this supremely happy creation.

MASTERWORKS B: Pre-Concert Chat hosted by music director Alexander Mickelthwate or guest conductors on the Piano Nobile Level at 7:15 pm.

Single tickets are on sale now at the WSO Box Office, 949-3999 or online.

SATURDAY, MARCH 3   8:00 PM

Schumann: Symphony No. 1 (Spring)
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2

Alexander Mickelthwate, conductor
Jon Kimura Parker, piano

“The Canadian pianist (Jon Kimura Parker) has the technical chops… and he also has the strength and suppleness of line, variety of touch and generosity of feeling to make its many tunes take wing.” – Chicago Tribune

Legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz, who played and recorded Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with his father-in-law conductor Arturo Toscanini, called it `the greatest music ever written for piano.’ Epic in scope, a symphony with solo, supremely dramatic yet hauntingly beautiful…this concerto ranks among the titans of its realm, and we are honoured to have the exciting Canadian pianist Jon Kimura Parker to perform it.

Composer Robert Schumann is a natural pairing with Brahms for it was Schumann who became one of the most influential people in Brahms’s life. Schumann’s ‘Spring’ Symphony is an exuberant work the composer started just after marrying his famous soul-mate Clara Wieck, composing it in a “state of bliss” as he said. Youthful joie de vivre pervades this supremely happy creation.

MASTERWORKS C: Pre-Concert Chat hosted by music director Alexander Mickelthwate or guest conductors on the Piano Nobile Level at 7:15 pm.

Subscriptions on sale now via WSO Box Office & online; Single tickets on sale via WSO Box Office only: 949-3999.