What A Wonderful Start to the School Year!

Fall and school are here but the fun keeps going!

After such a busy summer, Bandology has been enjoying a slightly slower paced September as we ease into the school year.

We do love September though because it features the start of Culture Days, a national event of free arts and culture events! It’s a great opportunity to get out into the community and see what it has to offer. Culture Days runs until October 4 and there are events nationwide. Check out events in your area here.

Plus the Instrument Library has been non-stop busy with loan requests from across the Halton and Waterloo regions. Say goodbye to alto and baritone saxophones as they were the first off the shelves this fall! As a former saxophone player, it always makes me happy to see how in demand they are!

Each fall, we are always so thrilled to celebrate Culture Days and this year, we’re doing it in style with three events in three different towns. Last weekend, we started our tour in Burlington with WANDER, hosted by the Burlington Performing Arts Centre; and then swung by the QEPCCC in Oakville for their festivities! If you were able to pop over and join us, we hope you enjoyed the music making!

This weekend, we will be in Halton Hills for our final Culture Days event. Join us on Saturday, October 3 from 12-2pm in Georgetown and try out instruments in the percussion section! Read more about it here.

We’re very excited to be back working with the City of Waterloo this season to run a series of music workshops! If you’re in Kitchener-Waterloo and you’re looking to get your kid more involved in music, we still have spots available for our two workshop series:

Blooming Musicians (ages 7-9)

Budding Musicians (ages 4-6)

Both programs run on Saturdays, from October 3 to November 21, at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex. Participants get to try out different elements of music each week under the guidance of our awesome instructors.

You can sign up now through the City of Waterloo!

Something about this time of the year has businesses looking for ways to bring teams together and try new things. Our corporate team building workshops are a wonderful way to explore collaboration skills in a new light! Your team can get hands-on with instruments and have fun while developing and growing together as a unit.

Read more about our offerings here and reach out to workshops@bandology.ca when you’re ready to book!

We seem to have a full band’s worth of instruments out already and we haven’t hit October yet! The entire Bandology team has been thrilled to see how busy our Instrument Library has been over the past month. Since the beginning of the school year, we've had at least one application (usually more!) a day and currently almost 50 instruments have been loaned out!

We still have 30 or so instruments on the shelf, so if you are interested, apply now to borrow and let’s see if we can break records in 2026!

As you might imagine, running this program takes a lot of work and the admin fee we ask for only covers the bare minimum of it. We are grateful for each and every donation we receive as it enables us to continue keeping this program as accessible as possible. If you are able, click here to donate.

Burlington Symphony Orchestra - Beethoven and Brahms

When: Sunday, October 4 at 3pm

Where: Burlington Performing Arts Centre, 440 Locust Street, Burlington

Featuring Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3, with Catherine Zhou on piano; and Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 2.

Learn more: burlingtonsymphony.ca/beethoven-and-brahms

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony - Shift, Change, Turn

When: Friday, October 16 at 7:30pm (Waterloo); Saturday, October 17 at 7:30pm (Cambridge); Sunday, October 18 at 2:30pm (Guelph)

Where: Knox Presbyterian Church, 50 Erb Street West, Waterloo; Central Presbyterian Church, 7 Queens Square, Cambridge; Harcourt United Church, 87 Dean Avenue, Guelph

Featuring conductor Léa Moisan-Perrier and soprano Aemilia Moser. Programme: Emilie Maier — Overture No. 2 in D Major; Emily Doolittle — A Short Slow Life; Jessie Montgomery — Shift, Change, Turn; W.A. Mozart — Symphony No. 39.

Learn more: kwsymphony.com/concerts/shift-change-turn

Guelph Symphony Orchestra - A Spectacular Season Opener: Tchaikovsky & Sibelius

When: Saturday, October 17 at 7:30pm

Where: River Run Centre, 35 Woolwich Street, Guelph

Join us for an unforgettable evening as the GSO celebrates the launch of its next season. Experience the artistry of Andrew Wan, Concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony, as he brings to life the hauntingly beautiful melodies of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto. Then the orchestra will perform Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, taking you on a journey through the peaks and valleys of human emotion.

Learn more: guelphsymphony.com/concerts

Mississauga Symphony Orchestra - The Art of the Concerto

When: Saturday, October 17 at 7:30pm

Where: Living Arts Centre, 4141 Living Arts Drive, Mississauga

Featuring Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto with acclaimed pianist Roman Rabinovich and Bartók’s spectacular Concerto for Orchestra.

Learn more: mississaugasymphony.ca/concerts

Toronto Symphony Orchestra - Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert Live-to-Film

When: Saturday, October 17 at 7:30pm; Sunday, October 18 at 2pm and 7:30pm

Where: Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe Street, Toronto

Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert Live-to-Film features the contemporary holiday classic on the big screen in full symphonic glory with Grammy-winning composer Danny Elfman’s musical score performed live to the film. Bored with the same old scare-and-scream routine, Pumpkin King Jack Skellington longs to spread the joy of Christmas, but his merry mission puts Santa in jeopardy and creates a nightmare for good little boys and girls everywhere.

Learn more: tso.ca/concerts-and-events/calendar

Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra - Symphony in Space: The Ultimate Sci-Fi Concert

When: Saturday, October 24 at 7:30pm

Where: FirstOntario Concert Hall (formerly Hamilton Place), 1 Summers Lane, Hamilton

The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra presents a sci-fi movie music concert in Hamilton, featuring iconic film scores from Star Wars, Star Trek, Interstellar, Dune, and more. Led by conductor Evan Mitchell this high-energy performance brings the most unforgettable science fiction soundtracks to life on stage. This sci-fi movie music concert in Hamilton is perfect for film fans, families, and anyone who loves epic orchestral soundtracks. 🚀

Learn more: hpo.org/concerts-events/current-season

Oakville Symphony Orchestra - Enchanted

When: Saturday, October 31 at 7:30pm; Sunday, November 1 at 2pm

Where: Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts, 130 Navy Street, Oakville

Internationally acclaimed violinist Jonathan Crow returns to Oakville to perform Walton’s electrifying Violin Concerto, a work of sweeping lyricism and dazzling virtuosity. The program explores music that captivates the imagination, from Saint-Saëns’ eerie Danse macabre to the unstoppable rhythmic force of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Two Canadian voices also take the stage: Carmen Braden’s atmospheric Blood Echo and a world-premiere orchestral work by Felipe Téllez, commissioned by the Oakville Symphony.

Learn more: oakvillesymphony.com/events/enchanted

Bandology on Social Media

Our Funding Partners

Copyright © 2026 Bandology, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Bandology

c/o Oakville Arts Council

2302 Bridge Road

Oakville, ON L6L 2G6

Canada