Origins

The Oakville Wind Orchestra is one of Canada’s oldest cultural institutions. In fact, our origins predate Canada Day. Not just any Canada Day, but the Canada Day on July 1, 1867, which marked the birth of “one Dominion under the name of Canada.”

Our story can fill the pages of several books, not least because our development and impact have been inextricably tied to the trajectory of an entire nation.

So where does our story begin?

Logic dictates that a good story should start at the beginning, which for us means the year 1866. But since the survival of this community concert band through the tail end of the 19th century, the upheavals of the 20th century, and the seismic shifts of the 21st century has been nothing short of logic-defying, we need to move the point of departure a lot closer to a more familiar present than one might expect.

A full year before Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations swept across the ten provinces and three territories, the Oakville Wind Orchestra received not one but two once-in-a-lifetime honours. First, a letter from Canada’s 23rd Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, congratulated the Orchestra on a century and a half of continuous operations. Then a proclamation was issued by the Mayor of the Town of Oakville, Rob Burton, to formally designate May 1, 2016, as “Oakville Wind Orchestra Day.”

In hindsight, one might be tempted to conclude that the Oakville Wind Orchestra has been immune to the forces of history, that it has persisted for over 150 years because its character remained unchanged.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Perhaps the clearest and most compelling evidence for its constant state of evolution are the band’s frequent name changes.

Our earliest roots were decidedly military in nature. Though attempts to raise funds for a Town band had begun as early as 1850, the Oakville Wind Orchestra officially started as a regimental band of the 20th Halton Battalion, No. 1 Company, around the time of the Fenian Raids, and was formed by a young military officer by the name of Ranson Byron Albertson.

After the Battalion was redesignated as the 20th Halton Battalion “Lorne Rifles” in 1881, the military brass band transformed into the Oakville Citizens’ Band: a civilian concert band with wider instrumentation and, after an embarrassingly long delay, female musicians.

The Oakville Citizens’ Band entertained audiences across Oakville and the Greater Toronto Area with live performances in the ensuing century. A particular highlight during this long stretch of time – for there are certainly many from which to choose – was the group’s second place finish at the Open Band Challenge of the 1967 Canadian National Exhibition.

As the 20th century was drawing to a close, members of the Oakville Citizens’ Band decided to change the name of the group to Oakville Concert Band. In 1997, after a short-lived experiment under its new stage name, the now-familiar Oakville Wind Orchestra came into existence.

The Orchestra has enjoyed a remarkable period of growth, success, and stability ever since. Driven by a dedicated and increasingly diverse band membership, a loyal audience and volunteer base, accomplished board members, generous sponsors, and the infectious energy of our music director, Chris Arthurs, the Oakville Wind Orchestra has been able to preserve and add to the legacy built across the centuries.