MICHAEL HAYDEN + Wauwatosa East High School orchestra

Wauwatosa East High School is one of two high schools in the city of Wauwatosa, a western suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Wauwatosa (Tosa) East has three curricular orchestras and a Celtic/Bluegrass fiddle ensemble. Students perform at numerous evening events, host kid-centered concert experiences, engage in chamber music, and provide music at countless other community events. The school is host to a number of professional musicians from the community, including several members from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, the Tosa East Orchestra regularly performs new music and works with local composers. In 2021, The Tosa East Chamber Orchestra premiered 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. Finally, a large number of Tosa East Orchestra members additionally participate in our school’s pit orchestra and the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO). 

The Wauwatosa East Orchestra has traveled domestically and internationally, seeking to acquaint its student 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. Internationally, the Tosa East Orchestra has also traveled and performed in Ireland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and will resume international travel again in 2023 with a performance tour of Italy. Most recently, the Tosa East Orchestra traveled to and participated in a recording session at the Disneyland Sound Studio in Los Angeles, CA.