The History of the Corsham Windband Association
Founded in 1981, Corsham Windband Association has spent more than 45 years helping children and young people discover the enjoyment of making music together. From its beginnings as Corsham School Windband, the Association has grown into a thriving youth music charity, providing generations of young musicians in Corsham and Wiltshire with opportunities to learn, perform, travel and build lasting friendships through music.
Over the decades, CWA musicians have performed across the UK and Europe, taken part in national music festivals, formed friendships with musicians overseas and represented Corsham at concerts and community events. This is the story of how it all began.
1981 - The Beginning of Corsham Windband
Corsham Windband Association began life as Corsham School Windband in 1981, under the direction of its founder, Dame Sonia Blandford.
From modest beginnings, using brass instruments found stored in a cupboard and bringing together a small group of woodwind players, the new band quickly began to establish itself. Its first performances took place at Corsham School, followed by concerts and community appearances in and around the town.
By the end of 1981, the young band had already undertaken its first tour within England and was playing Christmas carols in Corsham High Street.
What began as a school wind band would eventually develop into an independent association that has introduced generations of children and young people to the enjoyment of learning and performing music.
1982 - The Beginning of an International Friendship
International music-making became part of CWA's story remarkably early.
In 1982, the young Corsham School Windband travelled to Jargeau, Corsham's twin town in the Loire Valley in France. The musicians received a warm welcome, performed concerts and began a musical friendship that would continue for decades.
Jargeau became a regular destination for CWA, with successive generations of young musicians taking part in visits and exchanges. These trips were about much more than performing: young people stayed with families, experienced life in another country and formed friendships through music.
More than 40 years after those first encounters, CWA returned to Jargeau in 2024, continuing a relationship that has accompanied almost the entire history of the Association.
Growing Beyond Corsham – The 1980s and 1990s
During the 1980s, Corsham School Windband developed rapidly. Alongside concerts and tours, its musicians began participating successfully in music festivals and national events.
In 1984, the organisation became a registered charity under the name Corsham Windband Association.
CWA musicians went on to perform at prestigious venues including Covent Garden and the Royal Festival Hall in London as part of the National Festival of Music for Youth. In 1990, the band had the memorable honour of performing the National Anthem for Queen Elizabeth II at the reopening of the Kennet and Avon Canal.
The 1990s brought further performances, festivals and international tours. CWA musicians travelled to Scotland, Norway and Germany, performing in places including Glasgow, Mandal, Kristiansand and Cologne.
At the same time, Corsham welcomed visiting musicians from other parts of Britain and overseas. CWA families played an important part in these exchanges by hosting visiting young musicians in their homes.
Music had become a way of creating connections far beyond Wiltshire.
Music, Travel and Friendship
International travel has remained one of the defining features of CWA's history.
Over the years, CWA musicians have travelled to France, Germany, Norway and Spain, performing in concert halls, churches, festivals and community venues. The Association has also welcomed bands, choirs and orchestras from overseas to Corsham.
In addition to its long-standing relationship with Jargeau, CWA developed musical friendships in Germany and Norway and established a particularly strong connection with musicians in the Strasbourg area of France.
CWA took part in the International Windband Festival in Strasbourg in 1996 and again in 2000. A later visit in 2014 included a performance at the Council of Europe, and CWA returned to Strasbourg in 2023 for another programme of concerts and musical exchanges.
These tours and exchanges have always been about more than music. For generations of CWA members, they have offered an opportunity to travel, experience other cultures, gain confidence and form friendships that sometimes continue long after the final concert.
Developing Young Musicians
While concerts and tours form some of the most visible chapters in CWA's history, the Association's central purpose has always been the development of young musicians.
Generations of children have learned instruments, rehearsed together and progressed through CWA's ensembles. Along the way they have developed not only musical ability but also confidence, teamwork, independence and the experience of belonging to a group.
CWA musicians have participated in local and national festivals and performed at venues including the Royal Festival Hall and Royal Northern College of Music.
For some, CWA provided the beginning of a professional musical journey. Former members have gone on to study music at university and conservatoire level, teach music and perform professionally. Others have continued to play in community bands, orchestras and ensembles alongside careers in completely different fields.
The common thread is an experience of making music with other people – an experience that has remained at the heart of CWA since 1981.
Celebrating the Milestones
Each major anniversary has provided an opportunity to bring together current musicians and former members.
CWA celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2001 and its 30th anniversary in 2011, when former players returned to Corsham to perform alongside a new generation of musicians.
The Association's 40th anniversary celebrations had to be postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but in March 2022 a major anniversary concert finally brought current and former players together at Corsham School. Among them were musicians who had belonged to the original band four decades earlier.
In 2026, CWA celebrated 45 years of music-making with an ambitious programme of concerts, performances and community activities. Its 45th Anniversary Concert brought together 143 musicians, ranging from complete beginners to advanced performers, in front of an audience of more than 400 people.
The anniversary celebrated not only CWA's past, but the continuing principle that has shaped the Association throughout its history: creating opportunities for people to make music together.
A New Chapter in Music Education
In recent years, CWA has expanded its work beyond its own bands and ensembles through an ambitious music education programme in local primary schools.
Launched in 2024, the programme has enabled hundreds of children across Corsham and the surrounding area to experience brass, woodwind and string instruments, often for the first time.
The programme creates a pathway from a child's first encounter with an instrument at school into CWA's community ensembles, where they can continue learning and experience the enjoyment of performing alongside other musicians.
A String Group was added in 2025, complementing CWA's established wind bands and opening another route into ensemble music-making.
It is a new chapter in CWA's history, but one that continues the same purpose that inspired the original Corsham School Windband more than four decades ago: giving young people the opportunity to discover music by making it together.
Corsham Windband Association Today
Today, Corsham Windband Association is a thriving youth music charity based at the Pound Arts Centre in Corsham, Wiltshire.
More than 150 young musicians take part across four wind bands and a string group, while CWA's expanding education programme introduces hundreds more children to instrumental music in local schools.
Concerts, workshops, residential courses, community performances and musical tours continue to give young musicians opportunities to develop their skills and confidence.
Much has changed since that first group of musicians came together in 1981. The instruments, ensembles and opportunities have grown, and thousands of young people have passed through CWA over the decades.
But the essential idea remains remarkably unchanged: learning music, performing together and building friendships through a shared love of music.
Explore Our Complete History
This page tells only part of the CWA story.
From the first Corsham School Windband performances in 1981 to national festivals, international tours, anniversary concerts and community events more than four decades later, our history is full of memorable moments.
Were You Part of CWA's History?
Thousands of musicians have been part of Corsham Windband Association since its beginnings in 1981 – and every former member forms part of our story.
If you played in Corsham School Windband or one of the CWA bands and ensembles that followed, we would love you to stay in touch, share your memories and discover what the Association is doing today.
Our Alumni Community brings together former members from different generations and gives you the opportunity to keep up with CWA news and events – and perhaps even become involved again.