The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra has toured throughout Canada, and made a first appearance at Carnegie Hall in 1979. The orchestra has worked very closely with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation since 1954 when the CBC began broadcasting portions of WSO concerts. The orchestra has released numerous recordings on the CBC Records and has given thousands of national radio broadcasts since its inception. In addition to its own extensive season of concerts and educational activities, the WSO functions as the official orchestra of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Manitoba Opera Association.
Conductor Alexander Mickelthwate is the Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Since his appointment in 2006, he has played a pivotal role in the development of the orchestra, which culminated in a highly successful and critically acclaimed performance at Carnegie Hall in May 2014 as part of the Spring For Music festival. Born and raised in Frankfurt Germany to a musical family, Alexander received his degree from the Peabody Institute of Music. He studied conducting under Fredric Prausnitz and Gustav Meier as well as with Seiji Ozawa, Andre Previn, Daniel Barenboim and Robert Spano at Tanglewood.