The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is thrilled to begin its 2012-2013 season, celebrating 65 years! With seven unique concert series, 36 concert programs and 63 concert dates, performances will include a multitude of international soloists and conductors.

“We have many WSO ‘firsts’ and returning favourites,” says WSO Music Director Alexander Mickelthwate, “that will make it exhilarating to take in the magic of live symphonic music. I am thrilled to share these musical milestones with our patrons and musicians.”

It’s these “firsts” and back-by-popular demand events that will make this a wonderful 65^th year of celebration. Also join us for the Matinee (four Friday morning concerts) and Soundbytes (perfect for first-time symphony-goer or seasoned symphony lover) series as well as Dinner and a Symphony (worldly food perfectly paired with the evening’s concert).

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

• Opening night with Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by pianist Yuja Wang, whose command of the instrument has been described as “astounding” and “superhuman,” September 21-22;
• Canadian superstar soprano Measha Brueggergosman makes her WSO debut in William Bolcom’s entertaining Cabaret Songs, specially orchestrated for Brueggergosman, October 26-27;
• Mahler’s Seventh Symphony, a first time performance for the WSO in Winnipeg, November 16-17;
• Percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie returns to perform a new piece by WSO Composer-in-Residence Vincent Ho, February 2;
• Tenor Ben Heppner performs in a special Gala Recital with pianist John Hess and the full WSO, November 13;
• Golden West Radio presents Mennonite Concertos featuring Manitoba’s own composer Victor Davies for two pieces with soloists violinist Rosemary Siemens and pianist Leanne Regehr, December 2;
• Beyond the Score returns with Vivaldi: The Four Seasons following the tremendous response to their first WSO performance during the 11-12 season, February 9;
• Kings of Motown The Contours featuring Sylvester Potts kick off the Pops season, September 28-30;
• Canada’s own Barenaked Ladies debut with the WSO and perform Hits and Holiday Songs, December 7-9;
• Two of Canada’s most distinguished stars of musical theatre, Michael Burgess (Les Miserables) & Rebecca Caine (Phantom of the Opera) join forces, January 25-27;
• Former Triumph star and world-renowned guitarist Rik Emmett is featured in concerts devoted to the music of Woodstock, February 22-24;
• The screening of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in its entirety as the WSO performs the score to the original blockbuster film, March 22-24.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery marks its 100^th anniversary this year with the opening of Winnipeg Now on September 29. This exhibition brings together 13 Winnipeg artists whose work represents a variety of disciplines—painting, sculpture, drawing, film, video installation, and storytelling. A free, all-day birthday party will add to the day’s festivities and when the sun goes down, Nuit Blanche lights up with an all-night contemporary art and entertainment festival.  To learn more about the WAG’s celebrations, visit www.wag100.ca, a website dedicated to the 100th anniversary.

As part of the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art’s 40^th anniversary, the gallery presents the groundbreaking My Winnipeg, featuring the work of more than 70 Winnipeg artists. This exhibition premiered in Paris at La maison rouge and toured the south of France at Le musée international des artes modestes (MIAM). See all of the anniversary programming at www.plugin.org.

The Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba in Brandon offers a thought-provoking and hands-on exhibition. Opening October 4, the gallery presents S*OIL, a human-powered installation that examines the history of industrialization in relation to living systems by multi-disciplinary artist Maria Michails. The installation will be powered by visitors’ participation, asking them to operate a handcar mechanism that produces electricity in order to allow plants to grow, creating a space that is part laboratory, part farm, and part factory. Check out www.agsm.ca.

Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet opens its season with the Canadian premiere of an enchanting new creation by international dance giant Twyla Tharp, based on the Victorian fairy tale The Princess & The Goblin (October 17-21). This and three other full-length story ballets including The Nutcracker (December 20-30), The Sleeping Beauty (March 6-10, 2013) and Moulin Rouge – The Ballet (May 1-5, 2013) make 2012/13 a fairy tale fantasy season. www.rwb.org.

From a militant defence lawyer in A Few Good Men (October 18 - November 10) to a headstrong southern belle in Gone with the Wind (January 10-February 2, 2013), the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre presents larger-than-life characters engaging in epic quests for truth, love, beauty and honour. See the full season line-up at both the John Hirsch Mainstage and the Tom Hendry Warehouse at www.mtc.mb.ca.

The Manitoba Opera is celebrating its 40^th season with two Verdi masterworks – Rigoletto, the richly layered tale of the court jester and his daughter November 24, 27, and 30; and Aida, the grandest of grand operas, with spectacular pageantry and emotional intimacy April 13, 16, and 19, 2013. www.manitobaopera.mb.ca

Prairie Theatre Exchange also marks its 40th anniversary season with five premieres of contemporary plays all new to Winnipeg audiences. The season opens with Winnipeg playwright Ellen Peterson’s The Brink (October 10-28) and also features a new Munsch adaptation. See the entire anniversary season line-up at www.pte.mb.ca.

Communities around Manitoba are getting artsy to mark Culture Days, September 28-30. This coast-to-coast-to-coast volunteer movement aims to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities. From creating Ukrainian Pysanka (painted Easter eggs) in Winnipeg, to making your own parade float in Brandon to dancing through the streets in Flin Flon, check out www.culturedays.ca for a full listing of events and activities.