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.
History of Winnipeg and railway connection to St. Paul began the following year, via the Pembina Branch. The Pembina Branch ran on the east side of the Red River and terminated in St. Boniface. From there, passengers and goods were transported across the river to Winnipeg by ferry. The Canadian Pacific Railway completed the first direct rail link from eastern Canada in 1881, when the railway crossed the newly-constructed bridge across the Red River at Point Douglas, the Louise Bridge. The arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway opened the door to mass immigration and settlement of Winnipeg and the Canadian Prairies. Today, the