The British-style Brass Band

Another type of ensemble is the British brass band, whose instrumentation and style has been used and elaborated upon by many nations (including Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Australia, Canada, the U.S., and even Latin America). The modern form of this brass band type in England dates back to the 19th century. The Stalybridge Old Band is of this style, and was founded in 1803 (may be the oldest civilian band).

The instrumentation of such groups is: a soprano cornet, 9 cornets, a flugelhorn, 3 tenor horns, 2 baritones, 2 tenor trombones, a bass trombone, 2 euphoniums, 2-4 tubas, and percussion.

Many big-name composers have written pieces for this instrumentation, including Malcolm Arnold, Artur Bliss, Elgar, Holst, Joseph Horovitz, and Ralph Vaughn Williams.