One of Canberra’s community music treasures, Maruki Community Orchestra, will celebrate its 20-year anniversary and the legacy of the late violist John Gould with a film screening and book launch on Sunday.

The afternoon will mark two decades since the orchestra’s founding in 2005 and honours Gould, former principal viola of the London Symphony Orchestra, whose international career ultimately gave way to a passionate belief in the power and purpose of community music, put into practice here.

At the heart of the celebration is the launch of John Gould and the Maruki Community Orchestra, a new book tracing the intertwined story of the ensemble and its founder. Part biography, part community history, the publication reflects on Gould’s journey from global concert stages to grassroots music making in Canberra.

Federal Member for Fenner Andrew Leigh will appear in conversation with author and present-day Maruki conductor Paul Hubbard before formally launching the book, highlighting the vital place of community music in civic life.

The event will open with a rare 45-minute screening of String Quartet 1972, directed by Robert Parker for the Australian Commonwealth Film Unit. The documentary follows the Carl Pini Quartet, Carl Pini, Barbara Woolley, Gordon Bennett and John Gould, as they rehearse and perform Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor, offering an intimate glimpse into professional chamber music in Australia in the early 1970s.

The afternoon will also feature musical surprises, with proceeds from book sales supporting the orchestra’s ongoing work as a registered Canberra charity.

Maruki book launch and screening, Lyneham High School Performing Arts Centre, free event, 2.30pm, March 1.