Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Its primary concert venue is the Centennial Concert Hall, and the orchestra also performs throughout the province of Manitoba. The WSO gives an average of 80 concerts per year. The WSO also provides orchestral accompaniment to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Manitoba Opera. The orchestra's current executive director is Trudy Schroeder, since July 2008. Established in 1947, the WSO played its first concert on December 16, 1948 in the Civic Auditorium. Walter Kaufmann was the WSO's first music director, from 1948 to 1958.
Geography and climate of Winnipeg Geography and climate of Winnipeg Winnipeg lies at the bottom of the Red River Valley, a low-lying flood plain with an extremely flat topography. This valley was formed by the ancient glacial Lake Agassiz which has rich deposits of black soil. Winnipeg is on the eastern edge of the Canadian Prairies in Western Canada; it is known as the 'Gateway to the West'. It is relatively close to many large Canadian Shield lakes and parks, as well as Lake Winnipeg (the Earth's 11th largest freshwater lake). Winnipeg is bordered by tallgrass prairie to the west and south and the aspen