Wayzata Symphony Orchestra · 2026–27 Season
WSO Announces 26–27 Season: Celebrating Neighborly Voices
Five concerts bring American music close to home, featuring many Minnesota voices—including Libby Larsen, Steve Heitzeg, Amy Nam, Erin Keefe, Darius Gillard, Paul Humiston, and Evren Ozel.
Music in conversation
A season inspired by American poetry.
Celebrating Neighborly Voices brings orchestral music into conversation with words by Robert Pinsky, Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson. Across five programs, familiar landmarks meet new voices—revealing an America restless, lyrical, complicated, and full of possibility.
Concert 01
The American Spirit
Forward, with fire.
The WSO launches its Celebrating Neighborly Voices season with a celebration of the American Spirit—one that constantly moves forward, creating a better future. We welcome back Erin Keefe, Concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra, to open our year of American music.
Inspired by Robert Pinsky’s “The Figured Wheel”
- Copland · Fanfare for the Common Man
- Stravinsky · Firebird Suite (1919)
- Barber · Violin ConcertoErin Keefe, Violin
Concert 02
Dreams and Songs
Reverie, resonance, and hope.
A distant trumpet opens a dreamscape of longing, memory, and hope. Tenor Darius Gillard, VP of Impact at Minnesota Opera, joins the WSO for H. Leslie Adams’ Nightsongs before the program rises toward William Grant Still’s Afro-American Symphony.
Inspired by Langston Hughes’ “Dream Variations”
- John Adams · Tromba Lontana
- H. Leslie Adams · Nightsongs: Six Afro-American SongsDarius Gillard, Tenor
- Amy Nam · Mimi’s Song
- William Grant Still · Symphony No. 1, “Afro-American”
Concert 03 · A family concert
America Singing
A nation in sound.
Made for curious listeners of every age, America Singing welcomes children and newcomers into the orchestra’s world. Meet the instrument families, discover a commission, and travel from Bernstein’s Mambo to Márquez’s Danzón No. 2.
Inspired by Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing”
- Bernstein · Mambo from West Side Story
- Commission · To be announced
- Bartók · Concerto for Orchestra, II. “Presentando le coppie”
- Libby Larsen · Deep Summer Music
- Barber · Adagio for Strings
- Arturo Márquez · Danzón No. 2
- Morton Gould · American Salute
Concert 04
Let America Be
A promise, still becoming.
Langston Hughes’ vision frames an evening of reflection and resolve. From Hailstork’s fanfare to Florence Price’s Songs of Oak and Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, this is music that asks who we are—and who we might yet become.
Inspired by Langston Hughes’ “Let America Be America Again”
- Adolphus Hailstork · Fanfare on Amazing Grace
- Nino Rota · Concerto for BassoonPaul Humiston, Bassoon
- Florence Price · Songs of Oak
- Copland · Lincoln Portrait
Concert 05
A Slash of Blue
America, in blue.
The season closes in color: fanfares, wide rivers, a flash of Sousa, and Frank Ticheli’s Blue Shades. Van Cliburn prizewinner Evren Ozel joins the WSO for Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
Inspired by Emily Dickinson’s “A Slash of Blue”
- Joan Tower · Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 6
- Sousa · The Stars and Stripes Forever
- Frank Ticheli · Blue Shades
- Steve Heitzeg · Mahkato Wakpa (Blue Earth River)
- Gershwin · Rhapsody in Blue (1942)Evren Ozel, Piano
Five concerts · One season
Come hear your neighbors.
Join the Wayzata Symphony Orchestra for a season of music, poetry, and American voices—shared live with our community.
Programs and artists are subject to change.