Wauwatosa East is one of two high schools in the city of Wauwatosa, a western suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Wauwatosa (Tosa) East High School has three curricular orchestras as well as a Celtic/Bluegrass fiddle ensemble. Students perform at numerous evening events, host youth-centered concert experiences, engage in chamber music, and provide music at countless other community programs. The school is host to a number of professional musicians from around the greater Milwaukee area, including several members from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, the Tosa East Orchestra regularly performs new music and collaborates with local composers. In 2021, The Tosa East Chamber Orchestra performed a new piece, commissioned on behalf of the Education Foundation of Wauwatosa, by composer Barry Paul Clark. Titled Lesser Known Phases, this work by Clark was created in tandem with the student musicians at Tosa East. Additionally, students in the East Symphony Orchestra took part in Stephanie Ann Boyd’s Fifty State Project, culminating with the Wisconsin premier of her new music for string orchestra, Four Future Memories. Additionally, the East Chamber Orchestra has been selected to perform at numerous events and conventions around the state, including the WASB Administrator conference, WMEA Music Education Convention, the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony at the Wisconsin State Capitol Building, and in 2025, Wisconsin Public Radio’s Classical Music Day, which was later broadcast on WPR Music.
The Wauwatosa East Orchestra has a rich tradition of travel, both domestic and international, seeking to acquaint our young musicians with the finest schools, performers, and experiences worldwide. The orchestra has been hosted by the Eastman School (1995, 1999, 2003, 2013), the University of Southern Maine, the University Of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, the Royal Conservatory, Toronto, the Royal College of Music (1999, 2003, 2007), and the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University(2018), Nashville,TN. Internationally, the Tosa East Orchestra has traveled and performed in Ireland, England, Germany, Austria, Czechia, Italy, Vatican City, where they performed on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica, and in 2027, Norway.
