"Encore?The Concert Band" was established in 1993 to perform, preserve and enhance concert band music in the Greater London area. To accomplish this goal Encore performs a series of 6 concerts every year, including a special annual Christmas concert the proceeds of which are donated to Mission Services of London. All concerts are scheduled on Sunday afternoons and take place in downtown London in the auditorium of Central Secondary School. Audiences for each concert usually exceed 450 and have reached the auditorium capacity of 525.
The 65 musicians playing in Encore come not only from London, but also from Strathroy, Grand Bend, Dorchester, Aylmer and Brights Grove, and represent all walks of life drawn from the community at large. Eleven are active/retired music educators. Additionally Encore provides places for talented high school music students who have been recommended by their band director. This enables them to play at a higher performance level than in their school and increases their confidence level in all phases of their music education. All band musicians are volunteers and do not receive pay for their performances.