Sunshine Brass Band
The Sunshine Brass Band was founded in 1983 and is comprised of all volunteer musicians from the Tampa Bay and central Florida areas. Membership in the band is open to anyone in the area who demonstrates the required musical proficiency and eagerness to participate on traditional brass band instruments. The Sunshine Brass Band is a true community band, comprised of adult and youth amateur musicians who come from all walks of life. Members are drawn together by their shared love of brass band music and commitment to pursue musical excellence.
The Band takes seriously its commitment to serve and represent the community through musical excellence. The band can perform in any venue large enough to host a 30 piece group, and often performs at local churches and schools in exchange for donations. The band’s repertoire spans a vast range, from patriotic marches to Broadway show tunes to rock-n-roll and back to traditional symphonic pieces. The band enjoys musical camaraderie with other musical entities and has performed joint concerts with the Salvation Army's Florida Divisional Band, and the Tampa Bay Symphony in addition to our own feature concerts.
Historically, the Band's commitment to musical excellence is fostered most notably through participation in national competitions. In 1984, 1985, and 1986 the Sunshine Brass Band won the Honors Division of the North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) championships. After an eleven-year absence from national contest, the Sunshine Brass Band returned to the NABBA competition in April 1998 and has consistently risen among the ranks of other brass bands to gain top honors in the Challenge Division in 2000 and again in 2002. In 2003 the band recorded and released its debut CD entitled Sunshine & Brass. In 2013 the band recorded and released its second CD, Joy, a Christmas themed work. The band is currently serving at Tampa Covenant Church as artists-in-residence.