the most relaxed, happy orchestra you'll ever meet!

Welcome to Bury Community Orchestra.
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We are a fun and welcoming orchestra of all ages and abilities who play music and eat cake together.

Every great orchestra has an origin story. Ours starts with Tom.
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Tom is our founder, for many of us our music teacher and, for all of us, our friend.
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BCO started in Tom's front room but we enjoyed playing together so much that we wanted to expand to allow more of Tom's students the chance to play as a group.

We moved to a church hall and, in our early days, were still just a handful of people meeting once a week.
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As we grew COVID struck, and for a while we could only connect using WhatsApp. But we persevered, we sent one another recordings of what we were practicing and, when the rules allowed, we had some cold but much anticipated outdoor rehearsals. We even merited a mention on the Moreton Hall facebook group as a mysterious brass band making noise on a Tuesday evening!
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Now that we can meet safely again we have made the most of our time together, time that feels even more precious than before.

join us!

We are a casual and welcoming orchestra and invite anyone of any ability to join us. Even if you just want to come and listen, or offer an occasional note and learn as you play, we’d love to have you with us.

At present we do have a full complement of violins, cellos and saxophones, but are currently seeking bassoon, alto clarinet, French horn, trumpet, tuba and auxiliary percussion players - as well as a timpanist! If that sounds like you, please give us a shout!

our music

BCO enjoys playing an eclectic selection of music. Our diverse repertoire currently includes themes from film and TV as well as popular music from the likes of Abba and The Beatles. We also play traditional and classical pieces, such as the much-loved Celtic Air and Dance.
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As a growing orchestra, we hold regular free concerts to share all we've been working on with friends, family, and anybody else who would like to hear our music. It's a wonderful chance to showcase the results of all our hard work and we love to share our enjoyment of music with others. Setting ourselves such goals is very exciting, so watch this space for some upcoming events!
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We also enjoy regular socials where we get together and bring food to share. We may even have a sing song!

rehearsals

Bury Community Orchestra meet weekly on a Tuesday from 18:00 to 20:00 at Christ Church, Moreton Hall in Bury St Edmunds. We are a friendly group of amateur musicians across all grades, no one is excluded.

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We ask for a monthly payment that equates to £4 per week to cover our running costs and always find time for a drink and a slice of cake. Our orchestra is continuing to evolve as we grow as musicians and we are proud to support one another.