A Big Glorious Sound
The Maple Leaf Brass Band will be appearing at Ottawa BrassFest which runs from May 30 to May 31. Performing will be Ottawa's well-known Capital Brassworks, an organization of brass and percussion players comprised of members of the National Arts Center Orchestra and others. Internationally known trombone soloist Nick Hudson from the UK will perform with the MLBB and other soloists, including Karen Donnelly, principal trumpet NACO, and Nick Atkinson, tuba NACO. Different programs on Friday and Saturday evening concerts will be presented at St Matthias Church, 555 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario at 7:30 pm. For further information, visit the Ottawa BrassFest website.
The Maple Leaf Brass Band is a group of over thirty professional-calibre musicians based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital city. Their music has been described as "a big, glorious sound that needs no amplification."
While we are steeped in the British brass band tradition, the band's repertoire spans several centuries of music and several continents. We play pieces from many countries and in many styles.
Our mandate includes developing a collection of Canadian works. We’re proud to say that our library has many pieces by a wide range of Canadian composers including new works written expressly for the band by resident band-member composers.
The band performs in and out of Ottawa and averages over a dozen performances a year before audiences of 200 to 8000 people. Check out our concerts page for upcoming performances.
We have been invited to the Festival of Brass hosted by Canada’s premier brass band, The Hannaford Street Silver Band, in Toronto. In March 2007 we were the first recipients of an award presented by HSSB for best performance of “Slaidburn” by William Rimmer. Our performances at the festival comprised a significant number of new works by Canadian composers and we have been accorded a standing ovation on several occasions. In Ottawa June 2, 2007 we had the pleasure of hosting a concert featuring Nick Hudson, UK trombone virtuoso, and Karen Donnelly, Principal Trumpet, National Art Centre Orchestra. An online review of the concert can be found at 4barsrest.com. Other prominent performances include Last Night of the Proms Concerts, CHEO Teddy Bears Picnic, Halifax Tattoo, Christmas concerts, and various diplomatic functions,
We are pleased to say that people from all walks of life are represented in our band. Many of the members are professional musicians and teachers from a wide variety of musical groups. Our Musical Director, David Druce, has a long history of banding in Canada and the UK.
Our concerts range from serious to not-so-serious music. Our focus is to entertain, educate, and sometimes surprise our audience. In addition to the more traditional repertoire we promise to present some different and unique music.
The Maple Leaf Brass Band has a firm commitment to bringing brass music to a wider audience, to educating and improving the skill level of brass players throughout the region, and to developing a truly Canadian repertoire of brass band music.
The band's music library contains over 400 pieces including marches, hymn tune arrangements, classical pieces and a growing collection of original compositions written expressly for the band by resident composers.
The band was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation in December, 2000.
Rehearsals are held every Thursday in the basement of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Percy in Ottawa's Glebe at 7:30PM. All are welcome to come and play or just to have a listen.
Next to our audience, our sponsors have our undying gratitude. These organizations along with anonymous donors provide us with goods, services and money to allow us to continue to present high quality performaces to an ever-widening audience. Thank you!
If you’d like to join these elite organizations, please check our sponsorship information page.
