The WSO Gets Up Close & Orchestral at Winnipeg Schools

This week, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra went back to schools to present three engaging and interactive concerts. On Monday, we performed for the entire school at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute; on Tuesday, music students from surrounding schools heard the orchestra at John W. Gunn Middle School; and on Thursday, November 9, we closed out the week at Fort Richmond Collegiate.

Up Close and Orchestral is a WSO program that brings the full orchestra, led by RBC Assistant Conductor Monica Chen, onto students’ home turf with an up-close program of exciting music the way it is meant to be experienced—live and in-person!

The hour-long concerts are designed to excite and inspire the audience with works that showcase the orchestra through various musical periods and styles. Student (and staff) participation is encouraged and integral. These interactive concerts reach as many as 1,500 or more at each performance. If space allows, students from feeder middle schools and junior highs are often invited to the experience, further expanding reach and building connections.

A student from the audience at each concert got to conduct the WSO during the concert, and, in one piece, the entire student audience performed percussion – human canons for Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, during which no one was harmed, we promise.

Up Close and Orchestral concerts also feature a high school soloist performing with the orchestra for their peers. This year, Sam Ferguson, a grade 12 student from Fort Richmond Collegiate, played the 3rd movement of the Hummel Concerto for Trumpet for not only his student peers but also his parents, who are very involved in music education. Fergusson’s experience is part of our Soloist Training Program – WSO’s commitment to providing training and mentorship opportunities for aspiring and emerging musicians.

Every concert ended with an invitation for everyone to come to the WSO’s home at the Centennial Concert Hall on Thursday, December 7, for the Strauss’ Don Juan Thursday Classics concert for free. Everyone is also encouraged to join the WSO’s Soundcheck discount ticket program for 13- to 39-year-olds to attend other concerts more easily.