ORGANISER

the cooperation band

The Cooperation Band is one of Scotland’s leading brass ensembles and a registered Scottish charity, with roots in Glasgow stretching back to 1918. Made up of volunteer musicians, the band combines the strong traditions of community brass music-making with an increasingly ambitious artistic outlook, seeking to act as a proud Scottish ambassador for the arts at home and internationally. Recent years have seen the band place increasing emphasis on imaginative programming, collaboration and the creation of new music. It has worked with composers including Errollyn Wallen, Andrew Duncan, Lucy Pankhurst and Simon Dobson, while developing large-scale music-theatre projects that combine brass band, narration, theatre and visual storytelling. In 2026, its artistic activity has included appearances at the St Magnus International Festival in Orkney, the Edinburgh International Festival, the World Music Contest in Kerkrade and the British Open Championship, alongside performances across Scotland and further collaborative projects. The band has a long and distinguished history of working with leading artists. Past collaborations have included Howard Snell, Joseph Horovitz, Steven Mead, James Gourlay and Professor John Wallace CBE, while its extensive recording legacy includes albums devoted to Scottish repertoire, major original works for brass and music by Joseph Horovitz. Competitive success remains an important part of the band’s history, including a record number of Scottish Championship titles and two victories at the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain. In 2025, the band became the first Scottish band to win the Brass in Concert Championship. Today, The Cooperation Band continues to look outward: commissioning new repertoire, collaborating across genres, introducing new audiences to brass music and representing Scotland with energy, imagination and artistic ambition.

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