Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra turns 30: Betcha didn’t know we had one of those here

One thing we take for granted here in Waynesboro is our Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra, an American Prize-winning community orchestra that is marking its 30th year in 2026.

Seriously, the new acting Secretary of the Navy thinks our neck of the woods is “podunk,” but, come on, we have a prize-winning orchestra, chief.

“The Valley is incredibly rich in its appreciation for the arts, and in many ways, we’re the only symphony orchestra serving this immediate region. That creates a sense of pride and ownership. People feel like this is their orchestra,” said Peter Wilson, now in his 19th season as music director at the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra.

Wilson is also the music director at the Richmond Philharmonic and the artistic director and conductor at the American Festival Pops Orchestra in Washington, D.C.

We don’t mess around here in Waynesboro with our orchestra, is the message here.

Founded in 1996, our Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra has grown from a small community ensemble into a respected symphony that presents a full season of masterworks concerts in Waynesboro and Staunton, drawing audiences and musicians from across the Valley and beyond.

“What we’ve built over time is more than just an ensemble. It’s a family,” Wilson said. “There’s a deep sense of trust, commitment and shared purpose that you don’t always find, and I think that’s what audiences feel when they hear us perform.”

Under Wilson’s leadership, WSO has taken on increasingly ambitious programming. In recent years, the orchestra earned national recognition for its performance of Mahler’s “Symphony No. 1,” winning The American Prize for best community orchestra in the nation.

“Community orchestras don’t typically take on music at that scale,” Wilson said. “But what made it possible was the commitment of our musicians and the support of this community. That performance showed what this orchestra is capable of.”

The 30th anniversary season concludes this weekend with the orchestra’s “Celebrating America” masterworks concerts in Staunton and Waynesboro. The program features works that reflect the breadth and spirit of American music, including Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait,” Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” and Dvořák’s “Symphony No. 9.”

Tickets and additional information are available at waynesborosymphonyorchestra.org.

Betcha didn’t know we had us our own symphony orchestra out here in podunk.

“We hear it all the time: ‘I didn’t know we had a symphony here,’” Wilson said. “And then they come back, again and again.”