The Wayzata Symphony Orchestra was founded on August 11, 2009 by a group of talented, dedicated musicians in search of a community orchestra to call home. This group soon expanded its roster of passionate volunteer musicians from across the Twin Cities. Their commitment to putting on fresh, illuminating, and exciting concerts that are free and open to the public quickly distinguished the WSO as a top ensemble in the area, with each performance proving they were on the right track. Audience size continued to grow as the word got out about “the little orchestra that could.” Since then, the WSO has performed full-house concert presentations at Wayzata Community Church, St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, Trinity Lutheran Church in Stillwater, and Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis.
The WSO has collaborated with top local artists, including members of the Minnesota Orchestra such as concertmaster Erin Keefe, principal clarinetist Burt Hara, principal and assistant principal cellists Anthony Ross and Beth Rapier, principal trumpet Manny Laureano, principal flautist Adam Kuenzel, principal oboist Joseph Peters, and former music director and clarinetist Osmo Vänskä. The WSO has also welcomed the ANCIA Saxophone Quartet, dancers such as ballerina Yuki Tokuda and tapper Kaleena Miller, many dynamic vocalists including Maria Jette and Bruce Henry, and the incomparable jazz pianist Nachito Herrera.
Proud to present thrilling and culturally informative concerts each season, the WSO has prepared showstopper after showstopper, with such memorable performances as Orff’s Carmina Burana accompanied by the Edina Chorale and the Minnesota Boychoir, Verdi’s Requiem with the Edina Chorale, the Two Rivers Chorale, and four Minnesota Opera guest soloists, Brahms’ Requiem also with the Edina Chorale and the Two Rivers Chorale, Holst’s The Planets, and Vaughn Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem once again in Orchestra Hall with the Edina Chorale and the Two Rivers Chorale. And the highlight of their 2015 season was a flashmob of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, 4th movement’s “Ode to Joy” with the Edina Chorale at the iconic IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis.
All WSO performances are FREE, no ticket required. Donations gratefully accepted. Join us for receptions after each concert to meet the guest artists and musicians.
The WSO is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.