Derwent Brass

06/06/2026

𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏 𝐔𝐒 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐘𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋!

Earlier this year, Derwent Brass made history by qualifying for the Championship Section Final of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain at the world-famous Royal Albert Hall.

In doing so, we are believed to have become the first Derbyshire band in almost 30 years to qualify for the National Finals through qualification at the Midlands Area Brass Band Championships (The Regionals).

For our players, supporters and everyone who has been part of the Derwent Brass journey over the years, it was a very special moment.

Like most community bands, everything we do is powered by volunteers. Our players give up their evenings, weekends and family time because they love making music and being part of something special. Reaching the Royal Albert Hall is a reward for all that hard work and commitment.

Of course, getting there comes at a cost. Travel, accommodation, rehearsal facilities and all the other expenses involved in preparing for a national final soon add up, which is why today we're officially launching our JustGiving campaign.

If you've ever enjoyed one of our concerts, supported one of our events, or simply believe that community music matters, we'd be incredibly grateful for your support.

Every donation, no matter the size, will help us represent Derbyshire on one of the most prestigious stages in brass banding.

👉 https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/derwentbrassrah

Thank you for your support, and for being part of the Derwent Brass story.

Help Derwent Brass reach the Royal Albert Hall for our first ever Championship Section National Finals. Your support will help fund transport, accommodation and preparation costs as we represent Derbyshire on one of the UK’s most iconic stages.

04/06/2026

🎺 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥 🎺

Earlier this year, Derwent Brass qualified for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain at the Royal Albert Hall! A historic achievement believed to make us the first Derbyshire band to qualify through the Midlands Area Brass Band Championships in almost 30 years!

Research suggests the last Derbyshire band to achieve this feat was Glossop Old in 1999. Heading for three decades later, we'd love you to be a part of our journey!

With so many of our supporters, friends and followers based in and around Belper, we're delighted to be returning to the town on Saturday 27 June for a special Summer Proms: Road to the Royal Albert Hall concert, helping to raise funds and support our journey to one of the biggest events in the brass band calendar.

The evening will feature a rich and varied programme, from the evocative music of Brassed Off (as many of you will have seen us in at Derby Theatre) and memorable film scores, to virtuoso solo performances, iconic works from the brass band repertoire and a spectacular Last Night of the Proms celebration.

We are also delighted that Music Director Emeritus Keith Leonard will be taking the baton for this special occasion.

Whether you're a brass band enthusiast, Derwent Brass fan, regular concert-goer or simply looking for a fantastic night out, we'd be delighted to welcome you.

Every ticket purchased helps support our journey to the Royal Albert Hall as we proudly represent Derbyshire on the national stage this autumn.

🎟 Tickets and event details:
A Summer Proms: Road to the Royal Albert Hall - Derwent Brass
https://www.ticketsource.com/derwentbrass/

Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you at St. Peter's in Belper!

02/06/2026

𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗮𝗺 𝗘𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀.

A highly talented young musician, Sam is currently studying at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire under the guidance of Helen Varley and Ian Porthouse. Despite being just 19 years old, he has already performed with some of the brass band movement's leading organisations and established himself as one of the most exciting young horn players in the UK.

We're delighted that Sam has chosen to continue his musical journey with Derwent Brass and look forward to working with him in the years ahead.

Welcome, Sam!

Read the full story here: https://www.derwentbrass.co.uk/news/derwent-brass-welcomes-rising-tenor-horn-star-sam-edwards/

27/05/2026

🎈 🎂 Happy birthday Dai! 🎂 🎈

We won't tell you how old Dai is today, but suffice to say that around his birthday, the Queen was getting ready to celebrate her first year on the throne, people everywhere were amazed to see a huge flying metal tube with wings being tested in the skies, and finally, the Guinness Brewery hired two journalists to begin creating a book of records to settle pub disputes.

Dai has been involved with Derwent Brass for over 30 years - a truly evergreen player - and still to this day delivers on and off the stage, on the Sop of all instruments!!

Show your love for him in the comments!! 🎂

(We have alerted the fire service about his cake 👀)

26/05/2026

Looking ahead, Larks in the Park will begin on Sunday 28th June with a performance by Derbyshire's award-winning brass band Derwent Brass!

This is the first of ten free events organised by Belper Town Council in the Belper River Gardens. There will be different musical performances each Sunday afternoon, from 2pm-4pm, until Sunday 30th August.

Belper Town Council encourages visitors to travel to its events in sustainable ways. Please consider walking, cycling or using public transport to get here, if you can.

03/05/2026

Not the result we were looking for yesterday, but that band received a huge number of compliments on our performance, managing to win the favour of more than a few commentators and audience members! Unfortunately, the adjudicators weren't of the same opinion. We were very happy, however, that we put out the performance we had in the bandroom! All our players put on a great show and under the direction of our MD Jack Capstaff, put out a truly musical performance.

We were a little disappointed with the lack of audience members in to watch any of the bands. A number of our supporters opted to watch on the live stream, perhaps priced out of attending? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

We will now enjoy a week off before getting into concert season. We have a new project underway as we look to expand our contesting prowess.

Watch this space!

Congratulations to The Kirkintilloch Band on their victory!

Good luck to Desford Colliery Band, Ratby Co-Operative Band Organisation, and The GUS Band for their performances today!

01/05/2026

A nice surprise for us today from brassstats.com! We go into the Spring Festival tomorrow looking to continue our current form, made possible by the work ethic of our players and direction of our MD, Jack Capstaff - Conductor.

Good luck to all the bands performing over the weekend!

25/04/2026

We are working hard on our preparations for the Spring Festival soon, but the band have been closely following Flowers Band at the Euros this weekend.

Paul Holland is a regular face at the bandroom and is part of our contest prep.

All we can say is WOW.

Two quite extraordinary performances.

All the best to the band for their result, but they can be truly proud of their performance.

Incredible!

20/04/2026

🏆 A week on since our win at the fantastic ConsTest:! We have received so many messages of support and congratulations on our socials so we wanted to share this snippet from the Finale of Music Of The Spheres. 🪐

🩰We are now underway with our preparation for Ballet for Band next at the Spring Festival, this year held in Birmingham Town Hall.

You can watch the full day of performances on NXTOD: https://nxtod.com/

15/04/2026