Today, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra announced the programming for the WSO’s 2018-2019 Season, the debut season of Maestro Daniel Raiskin as the new Music Director, and a season full of legendary masterworks.
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra might be 70 years old, but it’s still hitting fresh notes as it rolls out a new season and music director. “The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is here to serve, not just the people who like the classics, like Beethoven. We’re here to serve the whole community, children and families, and people who haves grown up in other eras,” said Trudy Schroeder, the WSO’s executive director. “Part of organizing a new season means dealing with the struggle of choosing from “a million options. You’re choosing from a long history of music that actually would fall into — we’re not just talking about the last year’s greatest hits, it’s from the last 400 years,” Schroeder said.
The WSO’s new music director Daniel Raiskin will replace outgoing director Alexander Mickelthwate, who has been at the WSO helm for 12 seasons. “He [Raiskin] is a guy with a huge passion for music of all types, a very eclectic taste for music of all types and backgrounds, and I think he’ll have a really international flair,” Schroeder said. After more than a decade at the helm, Alexander Mickelthwate is set to step down as music director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Mickelthwaite has served 12 seasons with the group, making him tied with Bramwell Tovey for the longest-serving music director in the orchestra’s history. “I am grateful for my years with the WSO and my years in Winnipeg,” Mickelthwate said in a WSO news release. “I will continue to think of myself as part of the WSO family for years to come.” Mickelthwate started with the WSO in 2006. His last year is also the orchestra’s 70th anniversary season.
The WSO thanked Mickelthwate for his years as the face of the orchestra and praised his achievements in developing Winnipeg’s New Music Festival, building community engagement with the orchestra and helping create the Sistema Winnipeg program, which provides music training to children without access to resources.
The newest season’s opening night is September 17, 2018, with a tribute to Emanuel Ax, and will include the debut performance of Raiskin as music director.
Some Canadian Music highlights in their season are: