Woodhouse Prize Band was formed in 1853. The Band was originally called Handsworth Woodhouse, but soon became Woodhouse Band when the two parishes split. The “Prize” was added after winning many contests. We even beat Black Dyke Mills, albeit in the late 1800s!
Shortly after the Band was formed, a family named Cook moved into the village. They immediately got involved in the Band and William Cook became Bandmaster. He was followed by four generations of Cooks each taking up the position.
Graham Cook had been conducting the Band since 1974. Finally, in 2010 he handed the baton over to David Morris. David’s connections with the Band went back many years. Woodhouse was the first Brass Band he ever played with back in the 1980s.
We are very proud of being a village Band. We are totally self supporting and receive no sponsorship of any kind. The Band has a committee overseeing the day to day running.
In 2003 the Band celebrated their 150th birthday. It was a year long celebration and certainly one to remember. To commemorate the occasion, Graham Cook wrote a book “Woodhouse Band – the first 150 years”.
In 2013 for our 160th birthday we decided to make our first CD. We made our own recordings, edited it ourselves, did all our own artwork and had the CD produced in Sheffield… a completely “Made in Sheffield” production.
We are extremely excited to announce the appointment of Robert Hardy as Musical Director from September 2023. Rob is well known in and around Yorkshire (and wider!) and is of course the extremely dedicated “Face of Strata Brass”, being their percussionist since 1985 and band manager for the past 10 years. The band are delighted that he has agreed to swap two sticks for one and stand in front of Woodhouse
Rob has taken over the baton from Adam Whittle. Adam took the baton during the summer 2022 bringing a wealth of knowledge, skill and enthusiasm with him, along with an already established relationship with us after the departure of Richard Windle. The band extended their sincere thanks and appreciation to Richard, who was the leading force through some extreme highs and testing times brought on by lockdown during his time as Musical Director.