We often hear of big companies changing their names, or the names of their star products: who can forget the collective wonder of the world's population when Opal Fruits became Starburst; the confusion when Jif became Cif; the one that we're all still nostalgically furious about: when Marathon became Snickers. And who hasn't scratched their head in disbelief at the recent switch from Twitter to 'X'?!
Sometimes these changes are for good reason: in the case of Cif (above), it was a case of aligning the product name with the way it was marketed in other countries. As for the sweeter examples in the paragraph above, sometimes there doesn't seem to be any good reason other than to bring the product back into the spotlight (got us talking, didn't they). Or maybe, as in the case of Google, the founders simply thought of something better - asking someone to 'BackRub' some information doesn't quite sound right these days...
This year, three of our ensembles decided to have a re-brand of their own. Back in 2001, when The Jan Modelski Community Orchestra was born, the ensemble was fittingly named after its founder and musical director - as with many famous orchestras: take Manchester's Hallé Orchestra, named after the wonderful pianist and conductor Charles Hallé. Fast
forward almost 25 years and whilst Jan is still very much at the helm, the orchestra has become such a local institution that it made sense to change its name to reflect the community at the heart of its success. So, as of April 2024, JMCO becomes CCO: The Chester Community Orchestra.
Meanwhile, over on The Wirral, it was a case of 'great minds think alike' as both the big band and pop orchestra set up by Jan Modelski in 2019 sought to do the same thing. Staying true to their community ethos, the ensembles (together with Jan) wanted to ensure that their name
reflected the locality from which their wonderfully talented members came, so we are proud to now boast Wirral Big Band and Wirral Pop Orchestra as members of our musical family.
Despite all this change, there's one thing we know for sure will stay the same: our incredible communities will continue to enjoy making fantastic music together for many, many years to come.
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