WSO Announces 26–27 Season:
Celebrating Neighborly Voices
Five concerts bring American music close to home, featuring Minnesota voices—including Erin Keefe, Evren Ozel, Libby Larsen, Steve Heitzeg, Amy Nam, Darius Gillard, and WSO’s own Paul Humiston.
Photo by Rachel Postler
CONCERT 01
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2026
3:00 PM
The American Spirit
Forward, with fire.
HOPKINS HIGH SCHOOL
A season-opening celebration of an American spirit that keeps moving forward. Erin Keefe, Concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra, returns for Barber’s radiant Violin Concerto.
CONCERT 02
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2026
3:00 PM
Dreams and Songs
Reverie, resonance, and hope.
WAYZATA COMMUNITY CHURCH
A distant trumpet opens a dreamscape of longing, memory, and hope. Tenor Darius Gillard joins the WSO for H. Leslie Adams’ Nightsongs before the program rises toward Still’s Afro-American Symphony.
CONCERT 03
A FAMILY CONCERT
SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 2027
INSTRUMENT ZOO · 1:30 PM
CONCERT · 3:00 PM
America Singing
A nation in sound.
WAYZATA COMMUNITY CHURCH
A family concert made for curious listeners of every age. Arrive at 2:00 PM for the Instrument Zoo, then travel from Bernstein’s Mambo to Márquez’s Danzón No. 2.
CONCERT 04
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2027
3:00 PM
Let America Be
A promise, still becoming.
HOPKINS HIGH SCHOOL
Langston Hughes’ vision frames an afternoon of reflection and resolve—from Hailstork’s fanfare and Florence Price’s Songs of Oak to Copland’s Lincoln Portrait.
CONCERT 05
FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2027
7:00 PM
A Slash of Blue
America, in blue.
HOPKINS HIGH SCHOOL
The season closes in color: fanfares, wide rivers, a flash of Sousa, and Ticheli’s Blue Shades. Van Cliburn prizewinner Evren Ozel joins the WSO for Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
“I was very impressed with my first visit to the Wayzata Symphony Orchestra. The music was powerful, well done and diverse. The performance felt accessible for people of all ages.”
Claire LaChance
Audience Member
“I really enjoyed playing Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with the Wayzata Symphony Orchestra!”
Osmo Vänskä
Conductor Laureate, Minnesota Orchestra
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