The Jostiband Orchestra is a Dutch

Dutch people

The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

 orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

 for the mentally handicapped.

The band was formed in September 1966 as a music club of the Johannes Stichting in Nieuwveen

Nieuwveen

Nieuwveen is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Nieuwkoop , and lies about 9 km northeast of Alphen aan den Rijn.In 2001, the town of Nieuwveen had 2806 inhabitants...

. In 1974, it moved to Zwammerdam

Zwammerdam

Zwammerdam is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn, and lies about 6 km southeast of Alphen aan de Rijn.In 2001, the town of Zwammerdam had 1709 inhabitants...

, which has since been the home of the orchestra. It is currently led by Ipse de Bruggen, a conglomerate of organisations in the field of care for mentally hendicapped persons.

The band currently has 200 members and is the largest orchestra in the world for the mentally handicapped. Concerts take place every month - normally in the Netherlands, but also abroad regularly.

The orchestra is conducted by Lyan Verburg.