The Wagner Society of Cincinnati (WSC) was approved for membership in the prestigeous Richard-Wagner-Verband Internationale (RWVI) on 3/4/2012.  Professor Eva Maertsen of the RWVI Board informed WSC president via a letter of the good news. The RWVI, headquartered in Bayreuth, Germany, has 133 member societies internationally with over 22,000 individual members. The Wagner Societies were originally formed in 1870s to raise funds for the construction of the Wagner Festspielhaus Theatre to properly produce the Ring Cycle and other mature Wagner Music Dramas.

The societies, with the guidance of the RWVI, currently raise funds for scholarships to further emerging Wagnerian singers and promote the understanding of the music of Richard Wagner through educational activities, symposia, and Wagnerian research and scholarship. The RWVI sponsors an International Conference on the works of Richard Wagner annually in various European cities that is attended by its member organizations.

The 2013 Conference will be held in Leipzg, Germany, the birth place of Richard Wagner. This conference will commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the composer’s birth, and many special activities and performances have been planned. Members of the WSC are planning to attend the conference and various activities in Leipzg in 2013, in honor of the great master, Richard Wagner.