The Coda Fiddle Orchestra is a participatory community music project based in Boscombe that works with children, young people and their families from across Bournemouth.

The orchestra meets on a Saturday afternoon at Creative Kids at 4/5, The Sovereign Shopping Centre, 600 Christchurch Rd, Boscombe, Bournemouth BH1 4SX. The project is specifically aimed at children and young people in Boscome who wouldn’t otherwise have access to music opportunities of this type.

This participatory community music project has continued to grow from strength-to-strength and now provides violin tuition and performance opportunities for over 50 children and young people.

The Orchestra was founded in 2004 by Jack Maguire, a former co-leader of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Musician in Residence at The Arts by The Sea Festival in Bournemouth. Although Jack has now retired as Director, he remains ‘Honorary Advisor’ and the orchestra continues to benefit from his experience and expertise. The CFO is now led by Fiona McKinley and welcomes children aged 4 and upwards with a mission to help children and young people of all backgrounds reach their musical potential.

The Coda Fiddle Orchestra celebrates the diversity of our community and nurtures harmony through music. In our often polarised communities, it plays an important role in bringing families together through classical music and cultivating an environment where young people of different cultures and backgrounds can collaborate and participate.

It is a totally unique project in the area and one of many significant projects currently being run by Coda across the region.

The Coda Fiddle Orchestra is almost entirely funded by the local community and the generosity of local donors.

For anyone interested in the CFO and wishing to attend at no cost, there is means testing and a bursary form will need to be completed.

Find out more about The Coda Fiddle Orchestra in this short clip click here

Meet some of the young people who participate in the project and find out what they think of the Coda Fiddle Orchestra click here