​Our History

For nearly three quarters of a century, our Association has enriched the cultural life of our communities. We have presented musicians who have interpreted works of the great composers, while others have performed jazz, popular or folk music. In addition, we have presented both Canadian and internationally acclaimed ballet and dance troupes that have consistently been favourites of our members.

In 1947, a small group of local citizens met and decided to bring professional concerts to Welland. From that beginning was born the Welland-Port Colborne Community Concert Association, which was in effect a licensee of Columbia Artists, a New York based corporation. Artists were chosen from a list presented by Columbia.

In 1982, a decision was made to become independent of Columbia. This was done to enable us to have a wider choice of artists with a special emphasis on Canadian content and to have more control over programs at more reasonable rates. Our name was changed to Welland-Port Colborne Concert Association, and our programming changed to a wider spectrum of classical/jazz and contemporary music. We remain one of the great success stories on the Canadian performing arts scene. A number of concert associations have ceased to exist and we continue to bring a wide range of affordable concerts to our community.

All of our work is done by conscientious and hard-working volunteers in a non-profit and member-owned organization and we take our hats off to each and every one of them. Subscriptions have always offered exceptional value. Each member enjoys 6 outstanding concerts each season at a fraction of the cost of similar shows in other nearby venues. And, speaking of venues, the Dr. J.M. Ennis Auditorium is the largest permanent theatre in the Niagara Region, boasting excellent acoustics and state-of-the-art equipment.