YBS Brass Band

Yorkshire Building Society Brass Band finds its roots going back to the turn of the century. Originally named the Salts Mill Band from Saltaire near Bradford, Yorks, it was taken over by H.B. Hawley and in 1946 became the Hammond Sauce Works Band - a household name amongst the finest Yorkshire pedigrees in banding.

IN 1967 the legendary Geoffrey Williams was appointed Musical Director. Under his baton the Band became the BBC Band Of The Year 1969 and in the 1970’s toured both Australia and Canada - thus establishing the outstanding musical reputation of this brass combination.

The future tradition of the band was secured by the sponsorship of the Yorkshire Building Society in July 1993 following the withdrawal of the Hammond sponsorship. Aligning the ethos and traditions of the Yorkshire Building Society with the heritage of this firmly established Yorkshire brass band, this new-found partnership set about with new innovation and a vision for the future.

In December 1993 Geoffrey Whitham retired following a memorable period of over 20 years as Musical Director. David King was appointed Principle Conductor with the aim of making the YBS Band the Band of the Nineties.

Within two and a half years the Band has asserted a dominant role in the public profile of British Brass Band music, and as England’s representatives in Bergen, Norway the Band was crowned as Champion Band of Europe in both 1996 and 1997. British Open Champions 1997 and European Champions 2000. The All England Masters Champions 2000. Numerous international guest appearances represent the culmination of over 30 years experience in top class British Banding all of which he has brought to the Yorkshire Building Society Band since his appointment in 1997.

With the arrival of principle conductor David King in 1994 the Yorkshire Building Society Brass Band has had a meteoric rise on the contest stage unmatched by any other band.

1995 began in much the same way with the bands first appearance at the highly acclaimed BBC Festival Of Brass with the UK premiere of George Lloyds’ Kings Messenger. October saw the Band in the Royal Albert Hall at the National Brass Band Championships
for the second time in two years, and playing Elgar Howarth’s Songs For B.L. the band gained the runner up prize.

A second appearance in the BBC Festival of Brass took place where the theme of the 1996 programme was Salvation Army Music. Following the Festival the Band decided to make a CD of Salvation Army music, the first non SA band to undertake such a project. Following its release ‘Essays Of Brass‘ received fantastic reviews which resulted in winning CD of the Year 1996. In May 1996 saw the band represent England at the European Brass Band Championships in Bergen, and after playing number one in both set piece and own choice sections were crowned European Champions 1996.

In May 1997 the band returned to Europe to defend its title at the Barbican Hall, London. Following a close and exciting contest the band again triumphed to become European Champions 1997. The same evening the Band gave a Gala concert where the World premiere was given of Cry Of The Celts to rave reviews, a YBS commission arranged by Peter Graham based on the music of Michael Flattley’s ‘Lord Of The Dance’.

Autumn saw the release of two new CD’s, because of public demand Volume II of Essays In Brass, along with Cry Of The Celts featuring an arrangement of Lord Of The Dance and other Celtic flavour works, and in an unprecedented move Brass Band World Magazine nominated Cry Of The Celts, CD of the year 1997. Trophies include British Open Champions 1998  and the band became the European Champions for 2000 having won the title for four years in the last five years. Whitsunday at Cambridge saw them win The All England Masters 2000