Mike Rose a music teacher from Hartlebury established the Worcestershire Jazz Orchestra (WJO) in 1996 with the aid of National Lottery funding provided by the West Midlands Arts Council.

When Mike retired as Director of Music, Ian Hattersley took up the baton with responsibility for improving all aspects of music played by the WJO. Within two years Ian achieved runner up and winner for the WJO at the Worcester Competitive Arts Festival in the Open Jazz Section.

Based in Worcestershire the WJO is constituted as a non-profit making organization with a committee drawn from its members. Rehearsals are held every other Sunday at the Royal British Legion Droitwich, where musicians of all standards are always welcome.

We base our repertoire around " Big Band Swing " from the late thirties to the present day covering the arrangements of Glen Miller, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Ted Heath. We are continuingly broadening our repertoire adding arrangements from Sammy Nestico, dance music of the 50's to 70's and contemporary scores making for a lively programme of music