Your Donation matters!

Help sustain concerts, workshops, composers and musicians.
Ensure our future with stable funding over the years.

Forgotten Stories Suite!
Winner of a Western Canadian Music Award:
​Jazz Artist of the Year (2026)​

Jazz Artist of the Year! What an exciting night Oct. 1 in Victoria at BreakOut West!

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Sean Irvine, who released the 'Forgotten Stories Suite' album with the WJO earlier this year, was on-hand to accept the Western Canadian Music Award.

The record is a 10-track concept album that sonically paints the lived experiences of 2SLGBTQ+ individuals navigating identity, trauma, and healing. You can get your own copy of 'Forgotten Stories Suite', along with our other releases, right here on our website.

Huge congratulations to all of the other WCMA winners, as well as our fellow nominees in the Jazz Artist of the Year category. What an honour to be nominated alongside stellar artists like Aretha Tillotson, Caity Gyorgy and Mark Limacher, Elisa Thorn, and Ostara Project!
WJO Education:
​Teachers!  Start your year with a jazz band workshop with the WJO!
The next WJO Big Band Workshops will be on Saturday, October 24 at Fort Richmond Collegiate - morning or afternoon sessions are presently available. WJO clinicians work with students on their instrument, learning to improvise and will workshop your band through the music you bring. A great way to start the year! 
Please contact [email protected] for more information or to sign up.

TAKE 5: Dave Brubeck and West Coast Swing

Saturday, October 17 | 2026 7:30 pm
Desautels Concert Hall (U of M)

​Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond were the defining icons of cool jazz, their partnership synonymous with the sophisticated rhythms and breezy elegence of the West Coast Sound. Join the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra for a tribute to these legends, directed by and featuring alto saxophonist Neil Watson. Don't miss an evening of timeless melodies and masterful arrangements ... get your tickets today!

2026-2027 Subscriptions

Take Five...or seven...concerts, that is!
From Dave Brubeck, Miles, Billie & Ella to ABBA and the Grinch. Our eclectic season includes Blues, R&B, straight-ahead jazz and a big band twist on iconic rock standards. In the middle of the excitement, the family concert favourite comes to steal the show in December as the Grinch comes to town.

Buy your subscription now and get up to 20% off the casual ticket price.

$49 Casual Adult Tickets 
​$25 Casual Student or under 30 years tickets

Education events:

​Other resources for Students and Teachers:

School Subscriptions: Buy a subscription for a greatly reduced rate to send your students to live WJO performances! Send a different student each time or offer to students to make a bulk subscription purchase through their schools.
(Complete seven-concert subscriptions only.) Click here for more information or to get an invoice for your school.
Pre-concert performances: Please contact us if you wish to have your band perform before one of our concerts in the
2026-2027 season. Select your date before it is taken! Reserve your spot by contacting [email protected]. 
Big Band Workshops: Jump into your 2026-2027 school year with a half-day workshop for each of your jazz bands.
Take some of the weight of instruction off yourself and let us teach, encourage and inspire your students!
Mid-October and mid-November dates available.
Reserve an earlybird spot by contacting [email protected]. 
Women-Led Symposium 2027: We are in the planning stages and will announce more information about this uplifting event soon! If you wish to volunteer at this event, please contact [email protected].
WJO Honour Jazz Bands: Look for information in January 2027! Our honour jazz bands involve 2-3 days of workshops and rehearsals for students up to grade 12, and culminate in a performance at the TD Jazz Winnipeg Festival in June 2017. Auditions will be held in May 2027.
WJEC Summer Jazz Camps: Camps are finalized for August 2026. You are welcome to attend the free public concert on Friday, August 21. More information available soon...

If you would like your band to beta-test our upcoming play-along app, please contact [email protected]. 
Play-along charts for students are available HERE.
Jazz Skills videos are available HERE. 

​East Meets West: Connections 

Juno Award:  Jazz Album of the Year (group)
Western Canadian Music Award:​  Jazz Artist of the Year (2025)

Picture
The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra’s eighth album release features new works by Canadian composers Fred Stride and Jean-Nicolas Trottier.  A key goal of the WJO is fostering connections between jazz performers and composers across Canada. Several years ago, the WJO approached Montreal-based Trottier to propose a collaborative commission. Without hesitation, he suggested Fred Stride, whom he had met in 2011 when Stride was presenting masterclasses at the University of Montreal. The collaboration resulted in the stunning nine-movement suite featured on this album. Fred and Jean-Nicolas are prolific jazz composers and we are thrilled to bring them together on this project.
Winner of the Juno Award - Jazz Album of the Year (group) 
Winner of the Western Canadian Music Award - Artist of the Year
available on all streaming platforms
The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra  Endowment Fund!
Picture
The Winnipeg Foundation logo - For Good. Forever.
​The annual revenue we receive from the interest from this fund contributes to the WJO’s stability and sustainability.  We receive matching funds from the Canada Cultural Investment Fund.

You can make your donation on The Winnipeg Foundation website by clicking on the GIVE icon and choosing the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra. This endowment, along with your regular donations and the support of funding bodies, will ensure continued music-making by the WJO.

Thank you to The Winnipeg Foundation and the Canadian Endowment Incentives fund for their support.
The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra welcomes and shares its performance and creation of music - a universal language to all people irrespective of culture, race, sexuality, ability, language and gender.

Thank you to the Manitoba Arts Council for a professional development grant to help attend the Arts Reach Marketing, Ticketing and Development Conference in Toronto in June 2025.

Thank you to the Manitoba government for a grant to increase our inclusivity and diversity
and ​a grant to assist our move to electronic, paper-less music.

Thank you to the Government of Canada Canadian Heritage for Endowment Incentives matching grants for the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra Endowment administered by the Winnipeg Foundation..

- Any event may be altered or cancelled without notice.
​​- We take pictures and videos at WJO events. By attending you give permission for your image to be used in marketing or promotional materials. 
- Masks are always welcomed at events, but not required. We thank everyone for being considerate of their neighbour and not attending if they are not feeling well. Our primary concern is your safety and the safety of our musicians, volunteers and staff.