It’s an exciting season for the Fraser Valley. As spring arrives, our vibrant valley bursts to life, lush with color, lush with music. Music is so alive in our community, as evident through two thriving community wind ensembles of the Fraser Valley, who are coming together for “Spring in the Valley.”
The Fraser Valley Community Winds and the Fraser Valley Wind Ensemble share a common passion for music, and a love for sharing music with their community. Both ensembles are diverse groups, comprised of members from all walks of life, musical backgrounds, and around the Fraser Valley. And for the first time, they are coming together to bring you an afternoon of music.
The Fraser Valley Wind Ensemble (FVWE) is based out of Cloverdale, and its mission is to bring communities together through music. They do so by performing regularly throughout the Fraser Valley and lower mainland, often in collaboration with other local musicians, composers, or ensembles. Originally founded in 2011 as the Kwantlen University Alumni Symphonic Wind Ensemble, the band quickly expanded to include musicians from a variety of musical backgrounds. The name was subsequently changed to better reflect the diversity of its members, and the Fraser Valley Wind Ensemble was born. The ensemble continues to demonstrate its passion for music, commitment to its mission, and desire to perform quality repertoire at a high musical calibre.
The Fraser Valley Community Winds (FVCW) is based out of Abbotsford and has been sharing music with the Fraser Valley since 1960. Originally established as the Abbotsford Concert Band, the group was originally a marching band, and although it no longer incorporates marching, it is proud of its heritage and the building blocks upon which it has developed. Now a registered charity as the Abbotsford Concert Band Society (operating as the FVCW), its purpose is to advance appreciation of the arts in the community by producing music for public performances and by providing a place for musicians to practice and grow through participation in rehearsals and performances. Since its beginnings, the ensemble has been sharing music in the Valley and abroad, playing a wide assortment of music from marches to dance music to symphonic festival pieces at just about any sort of community event where music can lift the heart. The FVCW continues to grow and thrive in the community, focusing on musical excellence in the symphonic style, and striving to share its love for the community and its passion for live, acoustic music.
“Spring in the Valley” will be a celebration of collaboration, of growth, and of music in our community, with unique sets performed by each ensemble, bringing a variety of works, both new and familiar. So come experience the music. Come experience community. Come experience Spring in the Valley.