About us

A brass band for people of all ages, run for Garforth

Garforth Brass is a small charity with a simple object: to keep live brass music, and free musical education, alive in East Leeds. It is run entirely by volunteers and governed by a committee elected each year at the AGM.

Band members of different ages chat over mugs of tea during a rehearsal break, instruments resting on the chairs behind them. — Tea break on a Wednesday night. Everything the band does is run by its volunteer members.

What we do

The work your support pays for

The contesting band

Rehearsing every Wednesday, 7:30–9pm

The senior band rehearses every Wednesday from 7:30 to 9:00pm at Garforth Methodist Church on Church Lane, with additional Sunday-evening rehearsals ahead of major contests. It competes at the Yorkshire regional championships each spring and at local march, hymn and entertainment contests through the year — recent seasons have included the Stanley Entertainment Contest and the Drover's Contest at Wetherby.

Contesting is what keeps a band's standard rising, but it costs money: entry fees, coach travel, test-piece scores and the upkeep of instruments that are often decades old. The lottery exists first and foremost to pay for these things.

The training band

Free tuition, instrument and music

The training band rehearses on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:20pm, before the senior band, and is open to players of all ages and backgrounds — including absolute beginners. The band supplies an instrument, the music and the tuition free of charge.

It is designed as a stepping stone: players gain the confidence of playing in an ensemble, and many of the current senior players began here. When members outgrow it, there is a seat waiting in the contesting band.

Concerts and community

Playing across East Leeds year-round

Between the ensembles the band gives regular concerts and appears at venues throughout East Leeds — bandstands, church concerts, remembrance parades, Christmas events and private engagements. The band can flex its repertoire and its size to fit an event, from traditional brass band classics to jazz standards, classical pieces and pop.

Engagement fees are a second income stream that, with donations and the lottery, keeps membership free for the training band and affordable for everyone else.

Open days and Friends

Try-an-instrument day every October

Every October the band opens its doors: members of the public can try a range of brass and percussion instruments and receive an introductory lesson. Several current training-band members started at one of these sessions.

The Friends of Garforth Brass scheme, launched in May 2025, offers supporters a quarterly newsletter, invitations to open rehearsals and early concert entry, with a corporate tier for local businesses.

Governance

How the band is run

As a charity registered with the Charity Commission, Garforth Brass is governed by a committee elected annually at its AGM. The committee is wholly accountable for the band's finances, safeguarding and compliance, and holds seven trustee positions.

Committee and leadership

As published on the band’s own website; other committee members serve without a named office.

Chair: Dave Gibson
Treasurer: Janet Lymath
Secretary: Paul Lapapge
President: Mark Dobson
Musical Director: Gordon Eddison (appointed April 2024)

Safeguarding

The training band welcomes children and young people, so the band holds personal data for under-18s only with parental consent, keeps its membership records password-protected and restricted to named officers, and expects every adult member to follow its safeguarding and data-protection policies. Concerns can be raised with any committee member or by email.

Money

The band’s annual income is small — the latest accounts filed with the Charity Commission (year to 31 March 2025) show income of £5,875 — which is why every lottery ticket and donation makes a visible difference. Accounts are filed with the Charity Commission each year and the lottery’s proceeds will be reported separately to the licensing authority.

Fundraising standards

Garforth Brass is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and follows the Code of Fundraising Practice. Complaints about fundraising go first to the committee and can be escalated to the Regulator — see the contact page.

Registration

On the record

Legal name: Garforth Brass
Registered charity number: 1116537 (England and Wales)
Registered since: 31 October 2006
Registered address: 11 Pinfold Lane, Leeds LS15 7SX
Rehearsal venue: Garforth Methodist Church, Church Lane, Garforth, Leeds LS25 1NW
Also known as: Garforth Brass Band; formerly Garforth Community Brass Band
Registers: Charity Commission register entry Fundraising Regulator