As far as we know, the first mention of Stannington Brass Band was in 1881. Later it became the Stannington Church Brass Band and after a six year break was reformed in 1968 as Stannington Brass Band with its first performance in February 1969.
 
Community Links

The Band retains close links with the local community and many players reside in, or close to, Stannington. However, with true Yorkshire hospitality the Band actively welcomes students attending the local Universities and other visitors to the area.
 
Proud of its roots, the band plays at local events, parades and concerts and at Christmas time has a strong following of singers and supporters at carol events in pubs and churches.  The carols, many of which are unique to the area, are also still played on Christmas Day and Boxing Day around Stannington village.
 
Training Band

Whilst maintaining a high playing standard, the Band is proud of its commitment to young  and developing players and some of its longest serving players originally joined as youngsters. As part of this commitment a Training Band was formed in 1997. To ensure that no-one, through personal financial circumstances, is denied the opportunity to fully participate, the Band provides instruments, uniforms, music etc. for all players from its own funds.
 
Fund raising

The band has no major sponsor and receives no direct financial support. All funds are raised by the Band's own efforts – player subscriptions, grants, performances, donations - as well as a patronage scheme, which entitles patrons to certain benefits.
 
Keen to develop new audiences, Stannington Brass regularly teams up with local musician, John Reilly (best known for his bands Boy on a Dolphin and Acoustic Angels) and Canadian pianist and songwriter, Lewis Nitikman, to perform concerts at Sheffield City Hall and Sheffield Cathedral for local cancer charities. The band has also been involved in three professional stage productions of Brassed Off at Sheffield's Crucible and Lyceum Theatres,  as well as the high profile “A Symphony for Yorkshire” commissioned by the BBC.
 
In early 2022, under new Musical Director Sam Fisher, the band became the 1st Section National Champions of Great Britain and Bolsover 1st Section Entertainments Champions. The band made a great start to the Championship Section by being crowned Bolsover Championship Section Entertainments Champions in 2023 and with very solid placings at the 2023 and 2024 Yorkshire Regional Contests. It also saw consecutive promotions within the British Open Spring Festival in 2023 and 2024 meaning that the band will appear in the prestigious Grand Shield contest in 2025.

If you are interested in becoming a Patron of the band, please visit our Patron Scheme info page