In 1885, before Calgary had concert halls, festival fields or a single record store, it had a brass band. Loud, shiny, cheerful brass, and a fine soundtrack for a young frontier town.
According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, the Calgary Brass Band was formed in 1885 and became the city’s first civilian band. Civilian matters here. Mounted police bands had been playing in the area already, but this was the first made up of ordinary townspeople who wanted to make music together. That’s a big moment for a place still finding its feet.
It kept going. The same source tells us the Salvation Army Band followed in 1887, and the Calgary Fire Brigade Band arrived in 1890. Three bands in just over five years, in a town you could walk across before lunch. Brass and drums were how pioneer Calgary got its instrumental music, since bands did most of that work in those early years. There was no streaming and no stage lighting, just a handful of players, a lot of puff and a street to march down.
The mounted police were part of the story too. A police band led by Fred Bagley played here from 1886 until he retired in 1899, turning up at community events and giving the place a bit of polish. For a look at who stood at the front of those early parades, read our piece on bandmaster Fred Bagley.
You can still hear the family resemblance. Every brass section at a Stampede parade and every horn in a community hall owes something to those first players in 1885. To follow that sound further, read how the Stampede became a music festival in its own right.
Next time a brass band goes past on a Calgary street, stop and listen. It’s a sound that started before the city was even a decade old.
Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia, Calgary; The Canadian Encyclopedia, Police Bands in Canada.
Next up for you is Six Calgarians Built an Opera Company, and You Should Know Why. After that, The Jubilee and the Philharmonic Had a 28-Year Run.
More from the archive: A College Orchestra Carried Calgary’s Symphony Charter.
Quick answers
The Calgary Brass Band was Calgary’s first civilian band. According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, it formed in 1885 and was made up of ordinary townspeople, unlike the mounted police bands already playing in the area. It gave the young town its first community made music.
The Salvation Army Band followed in 1887, and the Calgary Fire Brigade Band arrived in 1890. That made three bands in just over five years. Brass and drums were how pioneer Calgary got most of its instrumental music in those early years.
Fred Bagley led a police band that played in Calgary from 1886 until he retired in 1899. It turned up at community events and gave the young town some polish. We have a separate piece on Bagley for anyone who wants the full story.
