World Mix Orchestra was formed in 2005 as the ”In house band” of World Mix Festival in Southern Sweden. The members have been chosen among the many skilled professional folk musicians from different traditions living in and around the multicultural city of Malmö, and the repertoir of the band spans from Persian to Balkan to Scandinavian to African music. The band plays both traditional repertoir and own songs composed directly for the group, on traditional as well as modern instruments.

Since their start, the band has played extensively around festivals and venues of Sweden, and also toured to Poland. They have also made a project together with Malmö Symphony Orchestra, which included guest artists Maureen Lilanda, Yair Dalal and Johan Hedin. 

The band is supported by the Swedish Arts council, and recently got a large scolarship from them for cooperating with Jafar Hasan Aboud, one of Iraq’s most famous composers, now living in Malmö.

Besides normal concerts, the band has also done a lot of school concerts, cooperating for instance with Nassim al Fakir, well known from Swedish Children’s television. A whole series of concerts is planned during 2009 in a cooperation with “Anki & Pytte”, another well known figure from Swedish Children’s television.

Though the band may look like a political project, what makes the WMO so fascinating is the joy of the musicians in playing together, sharing their traditions with each other and building something new which puts creativity and new energy into the traditions. A folk music for the future!