A Look at the Highlights from 2025/26

Looking back on 2025/26, it is hard not to smile at how many ways the WSO filled stages and hearts across Winnipeg.

The season opened spectacularly as Alexei Volodin launched Saturday Classics with a rare feat: back-to-back performances of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concertos No. 1 and 2. Later, the Agassiz Cello Festival Grand Finale united Bryan Cheng, Denise Djokic, and Alban Gerhardt for a cello lover’s dream.

Guest conductors Robert Moody and Rune Bergmann led memorable programs from Bernstein and Rachmaninoff to a Nordic Horizons journey, and the season closed with Boris Allakhverdyan, Principal Clarinet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, in a sparkling Mozart & Shostakovich program.

With Thursday Classics, audiences heard the world premiere of Haralabos (Harry) Stafylakis’ Symphony No. 3, marking the close of his tenure as WSO Composer-in-Residence and celebrating the announcement of Kelly Marie Murphy as the orchestra’s incoming composer-in-residence. The series also featured the warm, expressive playing of Alexandra Conunova, and an Italian-flavoured program featuring WSO Principal Trumpet Chris Fensom at Knox United Church under WSO Assistant Conductor Monica Chen.

A special highlight was Stewart Copeland’s Tyrant’s Crush, the legendary Police drummer’s first concerto, spotlighting the often-underappreciated virtuosity of the symphonic percussion section. For WSO Music Director Daniel Raiskin, deeply influenced by Copeland in his youth, the performance was especially meaningful, as he shared the stage for the first time with his son and drum soloist, Ilia Rayskin, before leading a thrilling Beethoven Symphony No. 7, a work of noble simplicity and restless energy.

The BMO Night at the Movies series remained a hit, with audiences cheering for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2™ in Concert, Casino Royale, Indiana Jones & Raiders of the Lost Ark™, the eerie charm of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and the soaring adventure of How to Train Your Dragon.

The Manitoba Liquor Marts Live at the WSO and Matinée series brought their own magic, from Jill Barber’s Parisian-themed Under Paris Skies, to The Music of Phil Collins & Genesis, to Stewart Copeland: The Police Deranged. An Oscar Peterson tribute paid homage to one of Canada’s great musical voices, while the music of Studio Ghibli invited audiences into worlds of wonder through some of film’s most beloved scores. A joyful Strauss program in Dances & Dreams rounded out an already colourful lineup.

Beyond the main series, the season featured Handel’s Messiah, intimate on-stage performances in From the Inside Out, and a live orchestral mystery in Murdoch Mysteries – Murder in F Major.

And of course, Brawl at the Hall made history in unforgettable fashion, marking the first time anywhere that a symphony orchestra officially shared the stage with professional wrestling. For many, it was one of the loudest, liveliest nights of the year and a vivid reminder of how creative and fun a symphony concert can be.

From masterworks to movie nights, new music to wrestling rings, the 2025/26 season was full of moments that showed just how many ways an orchestra can connect with its community.