This year is Beethoven 2020 year.

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in December 1770 in Bonn, Germany and became a well-known musician in his own lifetime - mostly for his music but a little for his unpredictable moods.

The Windsor Community Orchestra will be celebrating the 250^th year of his birth by rehearsing and performing his 5^th Symphony and other short pieces throughout the year. This spring, our programme includes the first and second movements of the 5^th Symphony (abridged and in an easier key), as well as the Scherzo from his Piano Sonata opus 28. We'll then perform the other movements of the symphony (similarly abridged and simplified) and other short pieces later in the year.

We invite you to join us, either as an orchestra member or at our Spring Concert on Thursday 26^th March. Full details of the concert can be found on our Calendar page.

The Windsor Community Orchestra held its 2019 Summer Concert on the 4^th July 2019. It was probably our most ambitious programme yet in terms of technical difficulty, with Leonard Bernstein's Mambo taxing the orchestra with its complex rhythms and need to shout "mambo" at just the right moments. The audience, however, took it all in their stride, and also enjoyed our tribute to Aretha Franklin (Queen of Soul) and excerpts from Hector Berlioz's Un Bal.

There were also performances from smaller groups and soloists. This included a guitar solo from our very own musical director Elaine Foakes, who was advertising a new Windsor Classical Guitar Ensemble, that has its first concert on Sunday 7^th July. More details on its web page.

One such small group was a clarinet duet of Kozue Gyves and Tom Creasey that played Nick Homes' Hobo Blues. This was a poignant moment for the orchestra as it was a farewell piece for Tom, who is moving on to new adventures in London. We also said farewell to a number of our teenagers who are growing up and going on to A levels or University. The orchestra gave its best wishes to all those moving on, and hopefully we might see them again in the future.

The concert, as always, was a charity concert. This term, we raised £445 for the WAMS Stoma Support Group, which is a new group for people with a stoma, their carers and family members. More details are available on their twitter feed.

Our 2019 Spring Concert was held at Dedworth Green Baptist Church" on Thursday 28^th March, 2019. It was a large audience who came to hear us play pieces as diverse as Anitra's Dance and In the Hall of the Mountain King, both by Edvard Grieg. The orchestra introduced the audience to minimalism by playing A Short Ride in a Fast Car by John Adams. Alongside these more classical pieces, more popular pieces, including the jazz version of Mack the Knife by Kurt Weill. The audience obviously enjoyed the evening; one lady in particular who had only just heard of the orchestra said how much she enjoyed hearing us all.

As well as the orchestra playing, we had solos from members of the orchestra, including an accordion, saxophone, flute and clarinet.

As always, the concert was to raise money for charity. This term we are supporting the Marlow Opportunity Playgroup, which provides a happy, caring and stimulating environment for children with additional needs. An amazing £422 was raised by for this charity by the orchestra and audience, for which we are very grateful.