Graham Nasby's Online Resources

 

Community Bands/Orchestras - Waterloo/Wellington, Ontario, Canada

List of local community bands & orchestras in the Waterloo/Wellington region of Ontario, Canada
See also: canadian community band & orchestra resources.

Here is a list of the community bands/orchestras that rehearse in the Guelph/Cambridge/Kitchener-Waterloo area. There are other bands which are also close by but I have limited this list to bands that are within a 30 minute drive from Guelph. Other bands which are a bit further away can be found on my community band/orchestra resources page.

Trying to find a band/orchestra that suits your playing style and schedule can be tricky sometimes. In order to help you out, I have listed what I consider to the local bands (that I know about about) along with when they rehearse. The conductors are also listed. All of this info is up to date as of March 2008 - I don't forsee any of the below information changing anytime in the near future.

Each of the below groups are different. Over the last few years I've played in most of them. Some play relatively straight-forward/easy music, others undertake more technical/challenging repertoire. Some of the groups are quite big (50+ members) and some are quite small (20ish members). Lastly, some of them are run very well, while others leave quite a bit to be desired in that department. But all in all, these is a very active music scene around Guelph that offers a lot of playing opportunities. Some of these are very good bands/orchestras. Check out the contact information provided by the below links and try them out for yourself. If you have any questions about any of these bands, and can't get a hold of them, just give me a shout and I will do my best to point you in the right direction.

List of local community bands & orchestras and what evenings they rehearse on:

Mon. Tue. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat. Sun.
Waterloo Concert Band
[cond: Trevor Wagler]
Waterloo

Cambridge Concert Band
[cond: Brent Rowan] 2
Cambridge

Kitchener Musical Society Band
[cond: Dave Davidson]
Kitchener

Waterloo Regional Police Services Band
[cond: Robin Habermehl]
Waterloo

Galt Kiltie Band
[cond: Brian Beard]
Cambridge

Fergus Brass Band
[cond: Bill French]
Fergus

KW Community Orchestra
[cond: Dan Warren] info
Kitchener

Breslau, Bloomingdale
and Maryhill Concert Band

no website info
[cond: Bryon Hagedorn]
beginner, intermediate & senior bands
Breslau

New Hamburg Concert Band
no website
[cond: ??]
New Hamburg

Acton Citizen's Band Junior Band
[cond: George Elliott] info
Acton

Kitchener Salvation Army Brass Band
Main Band & Beginner Band
[Cond: Paul Vos]
Kitchener

Cambridge Salvation Army Brass Band
Main Band
Beginner Band
Cambridge

UofG Concert Winds
no website info
[cond: John Goddard]
Guelph

(cancelled Sept 2019)

Caledon Concert Band
[cond: Rob Kinnear]
Bolton

Ayr-Paris Band
[cond: Merry Schmidt]
Ayr/Paris

Acton Citizen's Band
[cond: George Elliott] info
Acton

Stratford Concert Band
[cond:Laurence Gauci]
Stratford

Waterloo Chamber Players
[cond: Ben Bolt Martin]
Waterloo (semi-pro)

UofW Orchestra
[cond: Daniel Warren]
Waterloo

Cambridge Salvation Army Brass Band
Main Band
Cambridge

Guelph Salvation Army Brass Band
Main Band & Beginner Band
Kitchener

UofG Orchestra
[cond: Henry Janzen]
Guelph

(cancelled Sept/2005)

    Wellington Wind Symphony
(formerly Wellington Winds)
[cond: Andrew Chung]
Waterloo

Cambridge Symphony Orchestra
(formerly known as Cambridge Community Orchestra)

[cond: Sabatino Vacca]
Cambridge

Guelph Concert Band
[cond: Chris Cigolea]
Guelph

Notes:
(1) To my knowledge the following bands do some marching/parades: Stratford Concert Band, Galt Kiltie Band, Ayr-Paris Band, Cambridge Concert Band, Acton Citizen's Band..
(2) The Ayr-Paris Band also has a "beginner band" in addition to their main band, in which both adults and youth can learn to play an instrument.
(3) The Acton Citizen's Band also has a junior band that practices on a separate night. Complete beginners can join and get free music lessons.

Other Musical Groups

I have also heard about these other bands but don't know much about them. For most, I have no idea where/when they practice.

  • Portuguese Band - Lira Do Espirito Santo (Cambridge) - brass band

Finding Contact Information

For the above bands/orchestras that do not have websites (or websites lack contact information), contact information can usually be found from:

Best of luck!

 


 
Page first created sometime back in 1998.
Last updated: March 21, 2020