Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra

The Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra was founded by Ethel Stark, its conductor, and Madge Bowen.

[2] The orchestra first rehearsed in the home of Ethel Stark and gave its first concert in Mount Royal Park on July 29, 1940.

[1] One of the orchestra's highest points was when it was invited to play at Carnegie Hall in New York City on October 22, 1947.

[4][5] While the music of the European canon comprised most of the MWSO programming, introducing works of modern composers was also one of its priorities.

In 1954, its subsidiary, The Ethel Stark Sinfonietta, performed the Canadian premier of Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, Op.

The Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra in concert, Plateau Hall , 11 January 1945
Musicians during a rehearsal of the Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra, 9 January 1942