The Orillia Silver Band is boldly going where they've never gone before.
The 28-member brass band will be competing for the first time in the North American Brass Band Association's (NABBA) Championships April 5, 6 and Indiana.
"We've been planning since the fall to take part in the competition. We are only a couple of weeks away from it now. It's a competition between brass bands from all over North America," said conductor Neil Barlow, music director and conductor.
There are several bands from Canada going and the rest will come from the United States.
"This is a first for the Orillia Silver Band. We've never gone before so it's exciting for us," said Barlow.
Barlow knows what to expect as he's taken a previous band that he led to the competition in the early 2000s. He's been the conductor of OSB since 2013.
"We've been working in a focused way for this competition since after the Christmas holidays," he added.
Performing at their peak, the band is hosting a competition preview concert this Saturday night at St. Paul's Centre at 7 p.m.
Funds raised from the concert are going to offset travel and accommodation expenses. The band is travelling by car pool to the competition.
At the competition and the concert, the OSB will be performing the obligatory piece, which is Laude, written by composer J James Curnow. All the bands will be performing the same piece at the competition on the Saturday.
Then on the Sunday, the OSB will be playing a piece of their choice, which they are keeping under wraps. This piece will be part of Saturday's concert lineup.
OSB players include nine cornets, four trombones, four tenor horns, four percussionists, three tubas, two baritone horns, and two euphoniums (tenor tubas).
There are no trumpets in the band, said Barlow because the band has a softer sound than a marching band. The band style is based on traditional brass bands from the U.K. which have an orchestra sound.
Players range in age from "late high school to late life," he added with a chuckle.
Musicians in the band come from not only Orillia, but also Midland/Penetanguishene, Muskoka, Parry Sound, Newmarket, Thornhill, Markham and Toronto. They practice every Thursday night at St. Pauls.
"We have some really fine players. We are at the top of our game."
OSB is busy, playing 10 to 12 concerts each year, including an outdoor concert at the Rotary Aqua Theatre in Orillia every summer.
Tickets for Saturday night's show are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $15 for students. They are available at the door or through the OSB website.
To hear the OSB see them on YouTube.