The Cosmopolitan Music Society is a nonprofit organization named for its original sponsor, The Cosmopolitan Club of Edmonton. Founded in 1962 as the Cosmopolitan Club Band, CMS has come to occupy a unique role in Edmonton’s robust arts and cultural scene.

The society, originally made up almost entirely of students, met in school gyms and community halls to rehearse long before band programs were made available across Alberta. CMS ensembles grew rapidly, as they provided the opportunity to learn music from seasoned professionals so that band practice would not have to stop at high school. Needing a permanent performance and practice space, the society turned an old auto shop into a home, opening right in the heart of Old Strathcona in 1988.

Now the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre, the building hosts everything from school band rehearsals to community events, to craft markets, to Fringe festival shows. Cosmo’s humble beginnings have grown into a number of concert band ensembles, as well as a chorus, a jazz orchestra and a handbell group, which have performed at a range of events across Edmonton, Canada and overseas. These include, but are not limited to the Tommy Banks Tribute Concert, annual ‘Lest We Forget’ musical tribute concerts (in honor of Canadian veterans) in collaboration with the Royal Edmonton Legion, and Christmas concerts, as well as various performances at the Alberta legislature, the Commonwealth Games, and Carnegie Hall. 

The Cosmopolitan Music Society continues to pride itself on helping music lovers become music makers, making music instruction and performance broadly accessible to the local community.