Support Chapeltown Silver Prize Band

Chapeltown Silver Prize Band is part of a national initiative launched by Brass Bands England to save the many UK brass bands who are struggling to survive through the COVID-19 pandemic. Brass bands are a core of their local community, and many risk disappearing altogether without your help.

Why are we crowdfunding?

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, all our engagements for 2020 have been cancelled this has resulted in the loss of our main source of income for this year, whilst we have still had our ongoing running costs such as insurance and storage at our regular rehearsal facility.

Once restrictions eased in September, we were able to get back rehearsing in a COVID safe environment, but this required additional expenditure on temporarily moving to a larger venue that allowed us space to maintain social distance and purchasing of sanitising consumables to ensure the safety of all our members. 

Despite the promise of a vaccine for COVID-19 being on the horizon, we anticipate the safety measures we have implemented will still have to be in place for a considerable time to come. We are therefore fundraising to cover these additional costs to ensure we can meet safely to rehearse and hope to be able to entertain our supporters again once restrictions allow.

About Chapeltown Silver Prize Band

Chapeltown Silver Prize Band, now based in High Green, North Sheffield, formed during the 1870s and have always had our roots planted firmly in the community whose name we carry.

Pre COVID-19 the band was extremely active in the local community, performing self-promoted formal concerts at the Newton Hall, Chapeltown four times a year and performing, annually, on the bandstand in the park. On behalf of the Royal British Legion, we lead the village Remembrance Day service and parade and participate in the community carols in the Memorial Gardens and The Wagon & Horses (Wetherspoons) each December. Despite not being able to perform in public this year, some of our members, played the last post in their local communities on Remembrance Sunday.

It is a family orientated band, with the players’ ages ranging from 15 to 70+. We are a self-funding band with income coming from fees from engagements and fundraising, alongside generous donations from the local community and the loyal support of members of our patronage scheme. We are one of only a handful of bands playing at this level that survives without any form of commercial sponsorship. 

Local members of the community and our supporters all come together to attend our events, including those who are disabled or normally live in care homes. Live music can be therapeutic and we believe musical events are a vital part of any community. We feel that once Covid-19 restrictions ease, our supporters and local members of the community will be in greater need of the therapeutic benefits that live music can provide, especially the elderly, who may have been so isolated during the current restrictions. We feel this could increase demand for our services and will benefit the health and wellbeing of both our players and members of our community.

About Save Our Brass Bands

Brass bands exist in every corner of the UK, with over 30,000 people of all ages and standards taking part in weekly activity – rehearsing, performing and providing entertainment for their local community.

But we risk losing this forever.

Brass Bands saw their main source of income disappear in an instant when they ceased being able to perform in March in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Months later, we still don’t know when normal performances will be able to take place. A significant loss in income over the Summer months, paired with necessary expenditure needed to make rehearsal spaces Covid compliant means that many Brass Bands are in a perilous financial situation.

Without urgent support, we could lose our nation’s amazing Brass Bands. Please help us to make sure they survive this crisis and will be there to be enjoyed by future generations.

#SaveOurBrassBands

Please donate, share this page widely and do what you can to help us to make sure our Brass Bands survive this crisis.