Carlisle St.Stephen's Band - About

The band was formed in 1904 and started it's life in a tin-roofed hut on Arthur Street, in the Currock area of Carlisle. The noise of the rehearsals was not appreciated by the local residents, who threw stones on the roof to express their displeasure. Eventually the vicar of St.Stephen's parish church came to the rescue, offering rehearsal space in exchange for the band's services each month in church.

The band grew from there, and reformed after the First World War. By the mid 1920's, under the baton of William Lowes, the band had become one of the most respected names in British brass banding, winning the Crystal Palace Grand Shield in 1925, and then subsequently winning the World Championships in 1927 and 1929, and also obtaining a 2nd place in 1926 and 3rd in 1928.

We have kindly been provided with some old 78rpm gramophone records that were made by the band during this era. We have attempted to remove as much of the inevitable noise as possible so that the quality of their music can be discerned without too much distraction. You can listen to them by clicking on the gramophone links below.

Format: MP3 Size: 2.22MB Duration: 2'22" Title: Exile March

Format: MP3 Size: 2.28MB Duration: 2'30" Title: Toreador March

Format: MP3 Size: 9.52MB Duration: 10'21" Title: The White Rider

William Lowes was the band's musical director from 1911 until his death in 1955.

The band is not actively contesting at present. We last competed in the 3rd Section of the National Brass Band Area Championships Competition in March 2007. A partial record of our competition history can be found in the Brass Band Results website:

Our Brass Band Results.

Carlisle St.Stephen's Band welcomes all players young and old, of all backgrounds and abilities, to train them and provide them with instruments, and prepare them to go out and perform. This tradition is what keeps brass bands alive.

Band practice is on Wednesday evenings from 7.30 to 9.30 pm, at St.Herbert with St.Stephen's Church, Blackwell Road, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA2 4RA.

Google StreetMap Location

Aims of the Band

Carlisle St.Stephen's Band aim to provide good quality musical entertainment for the general public in and around the North of Cumbria, and occasionally beyond.

Our Musical Director - David Dye

Born 1951 in Hartlepool, David began playing the Tenor Horn at the age of nine, when a junior band was formed by the Hartlepool Old Operatic Brass Band. At about the same time he began piano lessons but was not too keen to practice. However, his grandfather Howard Robson (professional name - Jimmy Howard) was a well known piano and saxophone player who ran and performed in a local Dance Band. This style of music was much more like it and David would visit regularly to learn how to really play the piano.

By the age of thirteen he had moved on to the Head Wrightson Works Band in nearby Stockton where he learned so much from the conductor Cliff Midgley and the players around him. He was now Assistant Church Organist at York Road Methodist Church and organist to several Working Men's Clubs in Hartlepool.

Since this rather unique introduction to the world of music David has been Head of Music in Comprehensive Schools for approximately twenty years, played the French Horn in Brass Ensembles and various local orchestras and most notably was Principal Tenor Horn with the Ever Ready Band from 1972 until 1991 featuring as a soloist in concerts, TV and radio broadcasts and was appointed Bandmaster from 1989-1991. After this he worked with many Brass Bands around the north of England, and joined Carlisle St. Stephen's Band as MD in the summer of 2002.