Wakefield Orchestral Wind - putting the WOW into music since 1990!
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Lotherton - 12th September 2021
We had a wonderful afternoon at Lotherton yesterday. This was our first public performance since the pandemic began...and what a lovely setting!
We've been working hard, under difficult circumstances, to keep things going, and we've explored technologies previously unheard of! Initially, when we entered the first lockdown, rehearsals were cancelled, but once we realised this was not going to a short term issue we looked to Zoom to provide a home for our rehearsals. We've been back in person, although in a limited manner since the end of May and are really enjoying making music together again!
There are lots of photos of our afternoon on our Facebook page, so why not head over and have a look?
Wakefield Orchestral Wind is delighted to announce that Colin Cranmer has been appointed as our new Musical Director. Colin is no stranger to the band as he has been part of our brass section for the last few years. We are really looking forward to working with him!
On Sunday we will be playing at Lotherton Hall between 2pm and 4pm. Why not come down and listen to us as we make our first public performance since the pandemic began!
Lotherton - Sunday 12th September 2pm to 4pm.
We're absolutely thrilled to be able to share with you that we are playing at Lotherton Hall once again. This will be our first full band event since our 30th Anniversary Come and Play day in March 2020. We all know what happened after that!
Band nights turned into Zoom Quiz nights, and then as time went on we began Zoom rehearsals, and more recently blended rehearsals where some people are rehearsing in the band room and others join in using Zoom.
It has been a challenging time to say the least, but we have managed to keep the band spirit going.
We would really value your support at Lotherton Hall so please do come along and enjoy an afternoon of live music in beautiful surroundings.
We are delighted that we are able to make a return to in person rehearsals tomorrow - 27th May 2021.
Over the last few months the committee has been working hard to ensure that our rehearsals will be as safe as possible and comply with Covid-19 guidelines. We have produced several documents, including a Risk Assessment, which can be made available to interested parties.
Currently we are unable to accommodate every member of the band due to the required social distancing, so attendance may need to be on a rota basis.
However, we're really looking forward to this first step back towards normality, and can't wait until the whole band can meet together again without restriction!
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In a year like no other in the band's 30 year history, we don't have as many memories to look back on as normal.
But, we were very pleased that we were able to hold our 30th anniversary Come and Play Day back in March which also happened to be the last time we met in person.
Since then we have met virtually by holding Zoom quiz evenings and we've also made a couple of virtual recordings - Venus and Jingle Bells.
Here's another chance for you to watch Venus! We hope you enjoy it!
We would like to wish all our friends, families and supporters a very Happy New Year and with the rest of the world, we hope that 2021 is the year that we recover from Covid-19!
Back in October, Tutti Leeds Communtiy Concert Band invited local musicians to be part of their virtual recording of Leroy Anderson's Christmas Festival. If you look carefully you might recognise a few faces!
Hope you enjoy this romp through some well-loved Christmas Carols!
Jingle Bells
In a year when we have been unable to meet in person since March, we are pleased to present to you our virtual performance of Jingle Bells. We hope you enjoy it!
We would like to wish our friends and supporters a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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IMPORTANT NOTICE - COVID-19
In light of the government's updated advice that non-essential travel and non-essential social contact should be avoided it is with deep regret that we have taken the difficult decision to suspend rehearsals for the time being in order to prioritise the safety and well-being of our members.
We will of course be keeping an eye on the situation and will commence rehearsals again as soon as it is safe to do so.
In the meantime we send our very best wishes to our members, their families and all our supporters!
Westroyd Park, Farsley - Sunday 12th July 2020 - cancelled
Today, we should have been playing at Westroyd Park, Farsley - a new engagement for us - but of course due to Covid-19 we are not able to.
This is a photo of us playing at Ossett Gala this weekend five years ago.
We're not sure when things will be back to "normal". In the meantime we hope that everyone stays well and we look forward to being able to entertain you again.
Moment for Morricone - our tribute
We were sorry to hear yesterday of the sad news of the death of the Italian composer Ennio Morricone.
In tribute to him, here's another chance to hear our performance of Moment for Morricone from last year's concert at Trinity Netherton.
We absolutely love playing his music!
Please click on this link to see our video :- Moment for Morricone
Making Music Day - 21st June 2020
WOW is a member of Making Music - an organisation which specifically caters for groups like ours, choirs etc. As Making Music Day couldn't be in its usual format his year, they decided to create a virtual ensemble and choir.
Overall 199 musicians and singers took part - including some members from our midst.
We hope you enjoy this performance of Bring me Sunshine!
With rehearsals off the agenda for the time being, a group of us got together virtually to create a performance of the 80s classic, Venus.
Please head over to our Facebook page to take a look!