Inventions began in 2011, when the King’s College Orchestra (which later became the Halifax Music Co-op) partnered with local artists Nick Everett and Willie Stratton to expand their original music for performance by an orchestra. The result was a grassroots pop concert of the artists’ music performed with an orchestra of 40 community members for an audience of 300.

From there, Inventions evolved into a collaborative annual concert series between local artists, a composition team, and the community orchestra. Unlike other symphonic pop concerts, which usually center on the music of an established artist, Inventions was focused on elevating the music of emerging artists. Getting to work with composers to expand their music into larger-scale works and putting them into a leadership position during rehearsals with the orchestra provided the artists with an unique development experience that allowed many to take their careers to the next level. 

From 2011 to 2019, the Inventions program grew in orchestra membership and audience attendance. At its largest, Inventions was the annual flagship event for the Halifax Music Co-op, with:

• an ensemble of over 120 community musicians,

• performing in three shows over the course of a weekend,

• to audiences of up to 1000 attendees per weekend.

Over time, other artists were added to create visual art displays during the concerts, such as lightshow projections and 360 degree virtual-reality audio and video recordings.