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Saskatoon Brass Band
About Us
General: The Saskatoon Brass Band has been active in Saskatchewan since 1981 when it was founded by Brian Fox and Jim Horne. Both Brian and Jim had brass banding experience from Britain, where brass bands had their origins in the early 1800’s. Their mission was to introduce the fine choral sound of the British brass band to Saskatchewan brass players and audiences, and that remains part of our mandate. The SBB uses the standard brass band instrumentation of 25 brass musicians playing Eb and Bb cornets, fluegelhorn, Eb alto horns, baritones, euphoniums, tenor and bass trombones, and Eb and Bb basses, plus percussion.
Diversity: Players with a wide range of reasonable talents are welcome in the band. Our current membership includes adults of diverse backgrounds including music education and professional performance as well as some university and high school students. The band supplies some of the instruments people are unlikely to own, such as cornets and alto horns. The SBB itself tends to work on challenging music and plays at a fairly advanced level.
Bandmaster: In 1998, Terry Heckman became our Bandmaster. Terry holds the principal trumpet chair in the Saskatoon Symphony, and also played cornet in the SBB for two years. His leadership and supportive style have helped the band to grow and become more cohesive, while his choice of repertoire and his rapport with audiences have helped to make our performances more enjoyable.
Registered Charity: As a registered charity, the band plays several free public concerts a year in parks, at seniors homes, hospitals, and special care facilities. Christmas carolling is one of our favourite ways of reaching a broad cross-section of the community, and also our best fundraiser. The band regularly attends the Unifest and Optimist competitions, and looks forward one day to attending the North American Brass Band Association championships.
Brass Bands: After a two-century British passion for brass bands, they are now rapidly gaining popularity in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and even Japan. In Canada there are somewhere between 10 & 20 bands, with more starting up every year. No wonder! Although brass instruments are not simple to play well, the sound of a really good brass band is, frankly, awesome.
Executive & Volunteers: Our Directors effective February 27 2007 are:
There are also others in the Band who play a vital role in doing work that needs to be done (Gary Doige - Instruments, Rosemarie Markwart - Library, Rick Carlson - Web Site and Historian, among others.) The newly formed Concert and Program Committee has two volunteers so far - Casey Elder-Longstaff and John Duggleby. There is still room for more to share the load in this important committee.
Forms: For convenience, I have uploaded the following forms in Word format prepared by Gerry Cowie and Eric Woodsworth: Registration | Care of Instruments | Instrument Loan Agreement.
List Server for Newsletters & Reminders: We have a list server for mailing newsletters to band members. If you haven't received your first letter by now and want to participate, email me at mail "at" rickcarlson.com (replace the "at" with @). Make sure you tell me what email address to use in case you are sending it from work and don't want it to go there. If you want off the list, email me and tell me to remove your name.
History & General Information: SBB started up in 1981 and has played several concerts (mostly free) for Saskatchewan audiences each year. Our objective, other than having a great experience, is to promote the British brass band style of music to players and audiences and to provide public service. The level of music is quite advanced, and we expect a lot of our members.
The Meewasin Valley Brass Band is currently inactive, but will spring again into existence when we have several players interested in a less challenging level of brass music.
Playing membership is open to all brass and percussion players, irrespective of age; non-playing memberships are available to others wishing to assist the band. Bandmaster Terry Heckman decides who plays what part, if any.
The Board of Directors (elected at an Annual General Meeting) is responsible for coordinating administrative aspects of the band, but will ask other members for assistance; please help out any way you can, and the band will succeed.
Band Dues: The annual fee is set by decision of the members at a general meeting. Currently the annual fee is $75.00 for adults. The fee for students and seniors is $50. The dues are payable 1/2 in September and 1/2 in January. If you do not pay the entire dues up front in September, we require a post dated cheque for the January dues.
Instrument Rental/Loaner: Instruments may be loaned from the Band with a requirement for a $50 refundable security deposit as well as a $25 annual fee for maintenance and repair. You must sign a loan agreement and take good care of the instrument and case. (see the links above ‘Instrument Loan Agreement’, and ‘Care of Instruments’) You must also ensure that the instrument is insured, either through your home owner or tenant policy or otherwise. Members are expected to play brass band rather than concert band instruments. As an example, that means that we use cornets rather than trumpets.
Rehearsal Information: Rehearsals are on Tuesday evenings, 7:30-9:30 p.m. at 3rd Avenue United Church, 304 3rd Ave North, Saskatoon. Wet or dirty footwear should not be worn in the church. Slippers will do fine. The downbeat is at 7:30, so be warmed up and ready to go before starting time; those arriving late are usually out of tune and cause difficulties with missing parts. We typically practise downstairs in the church but every 3rd Tuesday of the month we practise upstairs.
Please let the bandmaster or a member of the Board know if you must be absent, and ensure your folder is at the rehearsal if others might need it. Players should supply their own stands.
You are expected to practise at home and learn your parts there so progress can be made on the ensemble during rehearsals. If you are having trouble with the parts, ask another member or Terry for help outside rehearsal. You may also benefit from lessons.
In addition to the Band itself, we often form quartets within the group, providing a more intense experience and challenge. Players are also encouraged to play solo pieces in concert. If you are interested, let Bandmaster Terry Heckman know.
Concert Dress: Concert dress is black shirt & pants, blue tie, black dress shoes & black socks.