The South Canberra Wind Orchestra is a community concert band comprised of musicians aged 12+. The band is a non-profit organization run by a volunteer committee of band members, whose aim is to provide a relaxed, fun and social atmosphere for people to enjoy making music.
SCWO currently has approximately 25 members - and we're always happy to have new musicians along to try us out! We rehearse Tuesday evenings each week during ACT school terms and perform regularly throughout the year as well.
The South Canberra Youth Wind Orchestra (or SCYWO) began in 1994 when a local high school music teacher and his students created the group in order to expand their efforts. Over the years the band has maintained an enthusiastic membership - at one point the band numbered nearly 60 musicians! In late 2023, the committee and band members came to a unanimous decision to change the name of the band to the South Canberra Wind Orchestra to better reflect it's current shape and membersip.
This year SCWO welcomes Kit Sharman back as conductor for his seventh year at the baton. Kit has been a part of SCWO since the mid-2000s, and enthusiastically dedicates his time and energy to leading SCWO.
SCWO maintains a busy schedule of annual events including a weekend camp, competing in the National Eisteddfod, a Community Band Festival night with other local groups, a fundraising trivia night and an end of year concert. Across the years we have also been lucky enough to take the orchestra on several tours: Tasmania in 1998, Melbourne in 2008 and New Zealand in 2010.
SCWO performs regularly at Eisteddfods, fetes, community events like Floriade, as well as our own end of year concerts. SCWO has also been very pleased to participate in all five Community Band Festivals and is looking forward to the next five!
We are happy to perform at various events throughout the year, either on an annual basis or as a one-off.