Mamre is a former mission station of the Moravian Mission and is located approximately 50 kilometres north of Cape Town. Currently the town is part of the northern boundaries of the Metropolis of The Union City, Cape Town. The town has a population of about 8000 people.

The congregation was founded on 27th March 1808 by the first missionaries; Johann Heinrich Schmitt and Johann Phillip Kohrhammer as the second Moravian congregation to Genadendal. With the arrival of the missionaries from Germany the art of playing the brass instruments was transferred to the local indigenous people. The congregation was then also visited for the first time in 1858 by the brass band from Genadendal Seminary when they performed during the 50th festival celebrations.

In 1880 the Brass Band was founded by the Mission School Headmaster, Br. Isak Uys when he started to train a group of school boys. As a church organisation the band, faithful to the tradition, regularly performed at church services such as Easter, 13th August Love Festival, Children’s Festival, Christmas as well as funerals of church workers.

In the early years only adult men were allowed to be members of the band. However, young men, women and children of the age of 10years is a common phenomenon in the band today. The band has grown tremendously in the last few years under the leadership of our conductor, Br. Ronald Johannes, and currently boasts a membership of 68 brass players. This makes us the biggest brass band in our beloved Moravian Brass Band Union of South Africa, also called the BBSA.

The type of music played by the band changed over the years from solely church chorales to classical music, jazz, sacred pop and Traditional African music. Besides the performances at church and funerals, the band also performs for a wide range of cultural organisations, schools, other church denominations and various community festivals. Lately, performances at weddings have also become very popular. The yearly highlight is our Annual Concert where several guest artists perform.

The motto of the Brass band is summarised in Psalm 150: Praise God with the sound of trumpets. The main goal is to run and manage our band so that we fullfill our motto in the first place, and by doing so, spiritually enrich our members and audiences. Secondly to promote culture on congregational, community as well as on national and international levels.
The Brass band falls directly under the local church council, but is also accepted as a organisation with its own constitution as a management tool with a democratically elected executive committee. The current executive committee is:

• Music Director – Hilton Smith
• Chairperson – Ronald Johannes
• Organizing Secretary – Marvin Wagenaar
• Minutes Secretary – Idolene Macca
• Treasurer – Christo Africa
• Committee member – Wesley Adonis
• Committee member – Ilan Adonis

Contact details:
Hilton Smith – 082 8256 977 email: hsmith@proteus.wcape.school.za
Ron Johannes – 083 4157 347 email: ronaldjohannes@moravianbrass.co.za
Face Book page: Mamre Moravian Brass