In 1983, The Hannaford Street Silver Band was formed by professional musicians with a love of the brass band repertoire and a passion for ensemble playing. Since then, the HSSB has been reinvigorating the brass band tradition to critical and popular acclaim.
Unique in its mandate and structure, the HSSB is the only fully professional ensemble of its kind in Canada. Through its artistic excellence and ongoing advocacy of this art form, the HSSB has a local, provincial, national, and international impact. The organization’s YouTube channel and social networking are further extending its reach to a diverse and global audience.
The Hannaford Youth Program has been an integral part of the organization for over twenty years. The program has woven itself into the very fabric of our community. There are no barriers to access, tuition is modest, and instruments are provided at no cost to participants. Hannaford Youth is continually nurturing a new generation of musicians, and community builders.
Hannaford Brass Music Publishing began online operations in 2016 and is another example of the HSSB’s growing impact. A catalogue of Canadian compositions is now available to ensembles the world over.
An annual, multi-concert subscription series is the core activity of the professional ensemble. For each of these concerts, The HSSB employs 30 professional musicians (the standard brass band instrumentation) and pays rates to them set by the Toronto Musician’s Association for both rehearsals and performances. In addition to these fees, the HSSB contributes to the Musician’s Pension Fund of Canada on behalf of these musicians. Many of Canada’s finest conductors, composers, instrumental soloists, choirs, and ensembles have graced our stage.
The HSSB maintains a vigorous commissioning program that has resulted in new concert works for brass band by such Canadian composers as James Rolfe, Vivian Fung, Christos Hatzis, Malcolm Forsyth, Raymond Luedeke, J. Scott Irvine, Andrew MacDonald, Donald Coakley, John Burge, Roger Bergs, Alex Pauk, Omar Daniel, Charles Cozens, Patrick Cardy, Henry Kucharzyk, Gary Kulesha, Randolph Peters, Jeff Ryan, Scott Good, Larysa Kuzmenko, Kelly Marie Murphy, Derek Holman, Barbara Croall, Erik Ross, Marcus Venables and Rob Teehan. The commission, Requiem Mass for a Charred Skull by Bramwell Tovey was awarded a 2003 JUNO Award for Best Classical Composition.
Under the guidance of the Board of Directors, a dedicated team of artist-managers from within the ensemble, consisting of Executive Director, Artistic Director, Administrative Director, and Youth Education Director, administers the concert series, guest performances, festival appearances, school concerts, recording projects, Festival of Brass, Youth Education Program and other outreach activities.
The HSSB has twice been awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for the Arts by the Province of Ontario.
The HSSB is heard regularly across Canada, the United States, the UK and Europe on both private and public radio stations and has the following commercial recordings to its credit:
- Bring On the Brass (MPR 1990)
- Voices On High (ODR 9324)
- Canadian Impressions (CBC SMCD 5136)
- Northern Delights (ODR 9308)
- A Christmas Flourish (CBC SMCD 5175)
- Brass Links (CBC SMCD 5188)
- Heavy Metal (ODR 9319)
- The Magic of Christmas (CBC 5192)
- The Hannaford Street Silver Band (CBC SMCD 5103)
- Connections in Brass (ODR 9335)
- Ontario Reflections (ODR 7440)
- Journey In Brass (ODR 7451)
- Entre Amis (HSSB)
The HSSB is also featured on:
- Introduction to Canadian Music, NAXOS 8.550171-2
- So the Journey Goes, Autorickshaw 2007
- Ovation, The Music of John Beckwith, CBC, PSCD 2028-5
The HSSB is engaged in a process of self-examination to collaboratively develop clear organizational goals of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The Hannaford Street Silver Band is committed to learning, experimenting, collaborating, taking risks, and exploring.