Galashiels Town Band was formed in 1834 and still plays a key part in the Town’s civic engagements
today.
The story of the Band in recent years is somewhat of a Phoenix from the ashes tale. Around 13 years
ago, the Band were desperately low on players and were unable to fulfill any of their engagements.
Following from the recruitment of current Conductor, Stuart Black, and a lot of hard work from him and
the committee, the Band now has a Senior Band, Youth Band and our Maroon Band boasting around 50
players. We are always on the look out for more players to join our ranks so if you haven’t played in a
while or would like a new challenge, please get in touch!
2019 was a key year in the Band’s history as it was the first time in 30 years that we were able to
complete the Town’s Braw Lads Engagements and we’ve gone on from strength to strength.
Thanks to Stuart, we were able to stay connected via online lessons and rehearsals over pandemic
before returning to in person in August of last year. This year, like most bands, has been our 1 st full year
following on from the lockdowns and it’s been a tremendous year. We’ve had concerts with Les Neish
and Whitburn Band, a workshop with Russell Gray, our Youth and Maroon Bands were in Perth at the
Youth Championships and we had a full calendar of Braw Lads engagements over the summer. What
was particularly great to see this year was that so many of our players were able to support other bands
with their summer festivals. We’ve had players helping Hawick Saxhorn Band, Selkirk Silver Band,
Jedforest Instrumental Band, St Ronan’s Silver Band, Peebles Burgh Silver Band and Penicuik Silver Band.
If you would like any further information on the band, or would like to book us for an event, please get
in touch via Facebook or by emailing info@galatownband.org