About SWON
We are a group of friendly, enthusiastic musicians based in East Finchley, North London. Founded in 1998 by Stephen Kersley and Stuart Allen (SWON’s first conductor) with a start-up grant from Barnet Council, we have now been producing varied and exciting music for over two decades for the enjoyment of the local community.
We rehearse on Wednesday evenings 8pm-10pm at Martin Primary School in East Finchley. We have three terms per year with a concert at the end of each term in multiple venues around North London.
Aside from our principal concerts, we also regularly take part in festivals and joint concerts with other ensembles. We have taken part in the National Concert Band Festival, in which we earned gold awards for three years running in 2014, 2015 and 2016. We have also been fortunate to enjoy working closely with other wind orchestras and choirs from London, Italy, and Liverpool.
We also love touring as a band, and are excited that we can get back on the road more regularly post-Covid! Past tours have included concerts in Antwerp in 2007, Reims in 2013, Liverpool in July 2017, Poole/Bournemouth in June 2018 and the Isle of Wight in 2022.
About Our Musical Director
Dwight Pile-Gray has been Musical Director of the Symphonic Wind Orchestra of North London (SWON) since 2021. He began playing the French horn at the age of twelve and studied performance at Trinity College of Music, where he first developed his interest in conducting.
He later studied conducting at London College of Music with Adrian Brown and Holly Mathieson. In January 2026 he was awarded a PhD at the University of West London, exploring how cultural context shapes the understanding and performance of wind ensemble and orchestral repertoire.
Dwight works extensively with both wind ensembles and orchestras. His approach to rehearsal focuses on listening, ensemble awareness, and the shared shaping of musical character, supporting musicians in developing performances that are both technically secure and engaging for audiences.
His research includes work on composers such as William Grant Still, William Levi Dawson, and Robert Nathaniel Dett, and elements of this work have informed professional practice connected to the BBC Philharmonic and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, alongside broadcasts on BBC Radio 3.
