The Ensemble

The Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra presents five concerts each year, featuring musicians who live and work in the Chippewa Valley. The orchestra also invites guest soloists from around the world to perform with the ensemble.

Our Mission

The mission of the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra is to provide excellent symphonic experiences to audiences in the Chippewa Valley.

Our Motto

“Music you love by people you know.”

Our Goals

Provide an opportunity for talented local musicians to perform.

Increase understanding and appreciation of orchestral music to an expanding audience

Provide our audiences with a diversity of orchestral selections and artists

The Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra performing on stage, with musicians playing various instruments including violins, cellos, double basses, a piano, and percussion, led by a conductor in a tuxedo, in a concert hall with blue walls.

Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra and the Chippewa Valley Festival Choir led by Maestro Nobuyoshi Yashuda in May 2019.

Our History

In 1975, a small group of musicians got together for the joy of playing standard classical repertoire. Although their access to music was extremely limited, Roy Bennett agreed to lead them. By the time of the orchestra’s incorporation in fall 1975, 22 string players were in the group, and wind players were invited to join them. Financial resources were meager; they consisted of dues paid by members and the director.

The first concert was performed in 1976 at the Mabel Tainter Memorial Theater in Menomonie, Wisconsin. In 1977 the CVSO became a member of the Association of Wisconsin Symphony Orchestras and the American Symphony Orchestra League. The CVS grew to a membership of 60-65 musicians for the 1978-79 season and remains about the same size today.

In 1978, Music Director Roy Bennett left Eau Claire and guest conductors led the group for a season. Ivar Lunde, a music professor at UW-Eau Claire, became the conductor for the next nine seasons. In 1987, Dr. Merton Johnson arrived to chair the UW-Eau Claire Music Department. He conducted the CVS orchestra from 1988 to 1993. In the fall of 1992, Nobuyoshi Yasuda came to UW-EC to teach violin and conduct the UW-EC Symphony Orchestra. He has been our music director since 1993.

The State Regional Arts Center was the home office and the location of most concerts from 1988 until its closing in 2018. CVSO then moved into new offices at 402 Graham Avenue in downtown Eau Claire.

CVSO now performs in the RCU Theatre at Pablo Center at the Confluence, a world-class performing arts center in downtown Eau Claire which opened in 2018. The move to a bigger venue and larger stage has allowed CVSO exciting new opportunities such as the formation of the Chippewa Valley Festival Choir, which made its premiere with CVSO May 2019.

An orchestra on stage, with the conductor standing in front, surrounded by musicians holding string and wind instruments, in a theater with gold curtains and wood-paneled walls.

Music Director Ivar Lunde is pictured with the orchestra at the Mabel Tainter Memorial Theater.

Black and white photograph of an orchestra with a conductor. The conductor is a young man in a tuxedo, standing and directing with a baton. The orchestra members include men and women, some with bows and sheet music in front of them. The setting is ornate, with detailed wall carvings and curtains.

Roy Bennett conducts at the Mabel Tainter Memorial Theater with Principal Cello Robert Gantner and cellists Gretchen Peters, Robert Cook, Paul Wildes, and Randy Mustin.