The success of the orchestra program at Wauwatosa East High School is directly related to cooperative efforts by all members of the music faculty, the supportive atmosphere developed and maintained by building and district administrators, and the strong interest and high expectations of the Wauwatosa community. Since 1982, the Wauwatosa School District has presented an annual All-City String Festival, this year featuring over 1100 students in grades 4 through 12. Each year elementary, middle, and high school orchestras perform under such state and nationally renowned conductors as Harvey Felder and Laura Snyder of the Milwaukee Symphony, Dr. Marvin Rabin, David Becker, James Smith, Janet Jensen of the University of Wisconsin, and Robert Culver of the University of Michigan.
The Wauwatosa East Orchestra has traveled domestically and internationally, seeking to acquaint our young people with the finest schools and performers world wide. To that end, we have been honored to visit the Eastman School, Rochester, New York, the University of Southern Maine, the University Of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, the Royal Conservatory, Toronto, the Royal Academy, London, and the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, Nashville. The orchestra was hosted by Eastman in 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2013, the Royal Conservatory in 1999, 2003 and 2007, and the Royal Academy in 1997. The orchestra was privileged to perform at St. Martin in the Fields, Salisbury Cathedral, and in Milton Keynes, England while on tour in 1997. The orchestra appeared in concert at Wesley College, Dublin, Mary Immaculate College, and the University of Limerick while on tour in Ireland in 2005, 2009 and 2015. In October 2019, the East Orchestra recently return to Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic where they performed at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Czech Museum of Music in Prague. The orchestra toured Los Angeles, CA and recorded in the Disneyland Sound Studio. Finally, East Orchestra has just return from a 10 day tour of Italy with performances in Rome, Vatican City, and Montecatini Terme.
Wauwatosa East Orchestra 