What is HSSB (Hannaford Street Silver Band)?

Updated

HSSB stands for the Hannaford Street Silver Band, an award-winning professional brass band based in Toronto and the resident company of Toronto's St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. If you are trying to confirm what the organization is, where it performs, or what kind of concerts it presents, the short answer is: it is a professional Toronto brass band that programs a full season of concerts in several Toronto venues, often in collaboration with choirs, soloists, and guest ensembles.

What HSSB is

  • A professional brass band, not a community or student group.
  • Described on its site as Toronto's award-winning professional brass band.
  • The resident company of Toronto's St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

Where HSSB performs

The band's upcoming concerts are listed across multiple Toronto venues rather than a single home hall:

Venue Example concert listed
Metropolitan United Church Requiem
Ada Slaight Hall, Daniels Spectrum A Celtic Holiday
Jane Mallett Theatre BRASS Tango, April in Brass

What kind of concerts HSSB presents

The season mixes classical and contemporary brass repertoire with cross-genre and collaborative programming. From the listed upcoming concerts:

  • Requiem — an evening of remembrance and reflection featuring Bramwell Tovey's Requiem for a Charred Skull, with the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto and conductor Kathleen Allan.
  • A Celtic Holiday — Celtic music, song, and dance with fiddler Dan MacDonald, singer Michael Darcy, and Irish dancers, conducted by Gillian MacKay.
  • BRASS Tango — Latin repertoire with the Payadora Tango Ensemble and a 10-piece Hannaford brass ensemble, conducted by Julian Pellicano.
  • April in Brass — the season finale with trombone soloist Hillary Simms, featuring Canadian compositions and brass classics.

The band has also been described in a review quoted on its site as having "breath-taking power and precision" (Roger Hecht, American Record Guide).

Tickets and season access

Individual concert tickets are sold through a Ticketmaster link, and the site also offers a "Buy Tickets for the Full Season" option. The site does not state prices or whether any login is required, so check the ticket link for current terms.

If you want to know more

The site also notes sponsorship and donor support, and includes a land acknowledgment recognizing Indigenous peoples and supporting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. For current dates, venues, and ticket details, the upcoming concerts section of hssb.ca is the place to confirm.