CAOS sprang from a small choral group which met as an evening class run by Ian Milligan in the late seventies. Ian was then (and continued to be for many years), Head of Music at McLaren High School in Callander. With Ian's encouragement and leadership, the group decided to form a musical society, whose aim was to encourage the study, performance and appreciation of musical plays and light operas, as well as encouraging the public to appreciate music in these forms ...... and so CAOS was born! 

The inclusion of "Operatic" in our name is a bit of a misnomer, as we don't really do opera unless you include one or two light operas by Gilbert and Sullivan or Josef Offenbach. 

In 1980, CAOS presented its first production to an unsuspecting Callander public. The show was called 'Land of Smiles', of which more in our Past Productions page. There were approximately 20 members at the outset and a few are still with us. . Over the years CAOS has gone from strength to strength and in 2009 our production of 'Fiddler on the Roof' featured as many as 70 members on stage. In the 37 years of our existence we have had 17 Presidents who, with their Management Committees, have led the Society in their different, but effective ways. In addition, we have had ten Producers who have ensured the continuing success of our productions. 

Throughout most of this period we had the constant presence of Ian Milligan, our Musical Director, who ensured the musical excellence that we have taken pride in. Ian continued to be our Musical Director up to 2015 when he retired following our successful production of 'South Pacific'. We were also fortunate that in the one year that Ian could not be with us, in stepped Linda Cantley (then McCombe) to provide musical direction for 'Kiss Me Kate'. Now, Linda has taken over the 'baton' from Ian and has been the Musical Director since 2018. 

However, every musical society needs a continuing introduction of new blood and we are no different. Each year one or two new members join, but so too do some of our older stagers leave. So, if you, or anyone you know, are interested in treading the boards, we'd love to see you. If you're interested, go the the 'Contact Us' page and send us a message.