London's biggest Christmas wind orchestra and choir!
Formed in 2012 to bring together a range of performers from across London, the Big Christmas Wind Orchestra has now become a regular annual event, bringing Christmas cheer to all participants and audience members who take part in the UK's biggest scratch wind orchestra and choir every year!
We have two main aims:
- We want to mix total beginners with professional players to improve everyone's playing ability and make new musical contacts. Where else can you find 10s of tubas, contrabassoons and even a serpent or two all in one place?! By playing well known Christmas carols and popular songs, we want to encourage and inspire players by showing what can be achieved when musicians come together at a great scale.
- We'd also like to encourage everyone to consider making music all year round - by running one-off events we hope to kick-start people's engagement with amateur bands, choirs and orchestras around the country. Our friends at Making Music can help you find a band, choir or orchestra near you if you've been inspired by our Christmas performances - click here to find out more.
In 2015 we added a choir to our events, which has been very successful. Performing alongside the wind orchestra with a selection of delightful descants and deep basses they really encourage everyone in the audience to sing along.
We were delighted to receive a grant from Arts Council England in 2017, enabling us to purchase more sheet music to allow more people to join in, and to make large print and special edition copies for all those who wish to take part. We're incredibly grateful for the support of Arts Council England and look forward to the benefits that the new sheet music will bring to our participants.
Take a look at the Gallery page to check out some photos and videos from the last few years, and most importantly, sign-up to join in, or come and watch us perform on the day!
Additionally, we allow charities to collect during our performances, making the most of the large audiences who gather to see us and our enthusiastic Christmas spirit. In 2018,Centrepoint collected over £1800 while we performed, making the most of the large crowds that gather around us, and our fantastic Christmas spirit!
To contact us:
Please email [email protected]
About us
