The Stroud Area Wind Orchestra have announced the formation of a brand-new band.

The new ensemble will be open to musicians with less experience who aren’t yet ready to join the more established senior band. “We’re welcoming all woodwind, brass and percussion players of all ages and abilities to join our new band,” said Jenny Mainwaring, Chairman of the Stroud Area Wind Orchestra who also plays flute in the senior band.

Jenny continued: “Our senior band has seen a steady increase in members since launching a couple of years ago and we’ve heard from plenty of enthusiastic musicians who have told us they would be interested in joining a band so that gave us the inspiration to establish the new band for beginners.

“Anyone wanting to learn an instrument is welcome. It does not matter if you’ve never picked up an instrument before, all we ask is that you’re keen and willing to work hard. We rehearse every Thursday evening at Cashes Green Primary School between 8pm and 9.30pm. The plan is that members of our new band will eventually progress to our senior band. It will take a lot of work but that’s why we’re here – to educate and encourage.

Jenny’s partner is David Smith, the Musical Director of the Stroud Area Wind Orchestra. “David plays a variety of instruments so it’s quite handy having him around! He also conducts the band so he’s a valuable member of the team,” Jenny said.

The senior band have enjoyed a fantastic few years, with performances across Gloucestershire the highlight of their busy schedule. Jenny continued: “We started things off in March 2016. There was a local band that disbanded, and we thought that there were far too many talented musicians in the Stroud area to not have a band, so we set about forming a new one.

“That’s when the Stroud Area Wind Orchestra was created. We had 20 or so members attend our first weekly meeting and since then we’ve doubled in size which shows the level of talent we have in the local area.

“We do three public performances a year; one at Christmas, another at Easter and one in the middle of summer. We also perform at parties and weddings and at bandstands across Gloucestershire. Musically we’ve very diverse, we do pop songs, traditional wind band music plus songs from films. Our next big concert performance will be on Saturday 8th December where we’ll be playing all of our favourite Christmas music, including a special rendition of ‘Silent Night’.”