Historic Brass Society, Inc.

What Historic Brass Society, Inc. does

The Historic Brass Society, Inc. (HBS) is an international 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1988 by Jeffrey Nussbaum and headquartered in New York. It serves the global community of historic brass music scholars, performers, instrument makers, collectors, and enthusiasts by centralizing peer-reviewed scholarship and facilitating an international community of practice. Its core products are publications, not technology: the annually published, peer-reviewed Historic Brass Society Journal (continuous since 1989; ISSN 1045-4616 print, 1945-5215 online; 35+ volumes), the semi-annual full-color digital magazine Historic Brass Today (launched 2021 as the Society's first multilingual publication), archived Newsletter content (1989-2005), and the Bucinia monograph series (Pendragon Press partnership, now out of print). The Society also produces commissioned compositions, instrument-maker directories, and operates a YouTube channel.

The Society's business model is membership-supported: individual members receive the annual journal and other publications, institutions subscribe to the print journal for $70 per calendar year, and back issues are sold for $15 each plus tiered shipping (US $10, Canada $15, Mexico $25, rest-of-world $32). Distribution is community-led via the historicbrass.org website, email, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and JotForm-based enrollment. The go-to-market is anchored on periodic in-person and online events including the Early Brass Festival, International Historic Brass Symposium, and topical conferences such as Arban & Kosleck 200 (CNSMD Lyon, November 2025), with the Christopher Monk Award (since 1995) functioning as the community's principal recognition vehicle.

The HBS maintains partnerships with the American Musicological Society, International Musicological Society, Galpin Society, Vintage Band Festival, IGEB, and Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse Lyon. Leadership transitioned in 2024 with Dr. Elisa Koehler becoming the third President, succeeded for 2026-2027 by Steven Plank, with Dr. Stephen M. Wadsack appointed General Manager effective October 2025.

Name

Historic Brass Society, Inc.

Legal name

Historic Brass Society, Inc.

Website

https://historicbrass.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Historic Brass Society (HBS) is an international 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1988 that serves scholars, performers, instrument makers, and enthusiasts of historic brass music worldwide through peer-reviewed publications, international conferences, and the Christopher Monk Award.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Scholarly Association

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAHAB

Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Arts, Culture & Heritage Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGAHAD

Cultural Centers & Community Cultural Organizations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Arts, Culture & Heritage Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGAHAG

Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Arts, Culture & Heritage Nonprofits

Keywords

• Historic brass scholarship
• Music history society
• Brass performance events
• Musicological publications
• Early music research

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Individual membership in the HBS provides access to the annual peer-reviewed Historic Brass Journal and other publications. Membership is open to individuals interested in brass instruments and their history.
2. Institutional Subscriptions: Organizations and institutions can subscribe to the print version of the Historic Brass Journal for $70 per calendar year. This includes all print and digital publications but does not include voting rights.
3. Back Issues and Publications: Sale of back issues of the Historic Brass Journal at $15 each, with varying shipping costs based on location. Also publishes monographs through collaboration with Pendragon Press (Bucinia series) and the semi-annual Historic Brass Today magazine.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Historic Brass Society is a non-profit scholarly membership organization that supports and promotes the study and performance of historic brass music. It produces an annual peer-reviewed academic journal (Historic Brass Society Journal) and a semi-annual digital magazine (Historic Brass Today), and convenes events such as the Early Brass Festival, the International Historic Brass Symposium, and regional workshops.

Product overview

The Historic Brass Society offers a portfolio of scholarly publications and member services focused on historic brass instruments and music. The core offerings include the Historic Brass Society Journal (annual peer-reviewed scholarly journal), Historic Brass Today (semi-annual digital magazine), the Historic Brass Society Newsletter (archived 1989-2005), and website content featuring articles, book/recording/music reviews, interviews, and commissioned compositions. The Society also sponsors periodic events including the Early Brass Festival, International Historic Brass Symposium, and conferences such as Arban & Kosleck 200. Additional services include the Christopher Monk Award for outstanding contributions to the field, instrument maker directories, and a YouTube channel. Membership provides access to publications and events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Historic Brass Society Journal: The annually-published peer-reviewed scholarly journal of the society, established in 1989.
• Historic Brass Today
• Historic Brass Society Newsletter
• BUCINA: The Historic Brass Society Series
• Christopher Monk Award

Products and services

• Historic Brass Society Journal Annual peer-reviewed scholarly journal publishing original research on historic brass music, intended for musicologists, performers, and brass instrument historians.
• Historic Brass Today Semi-annual digital magazine providing news, event listings, and scholarly content for the historic brass community.
• Individual Membership Annual membership for individuals that includes access to the Society's journal and other member benefits.
• Institutional Subscription Annual subscription priced at $70 per year for libraries, conservatories, and music schools seeking access to the Society's journal.
• International Historic Brass Symposium Biennial international symposium convening scholars, performers, and instrument builders for presentations, performances, and networking related to historic brass music.
• Early Brass Festival Annual festival dedicated to the performance and study of early brass instruments.
• Regional Brass Workshops (Northeast Natural Horn Workshop, Mid-West Workshop) Regional workshops (Northeast Natural Horn Workshop and Mid-West Workshop) providing hands-on performance and historical instruction for brass players and scholars.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Musicological SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe HBS has collaborated with AMS on events, leveraging their shared interest in music history and scholarship. The partnership enables cross-promotion to academic music scholars.
• International Musicological SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe HBS presented a day-long symposium at the 18th IMS Congress in Zurich in 2007, focused on transitions in repertoire and performance cultures in brass music.
• Galpin SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership with the Galpin Society, an organization for the study of musical instruments, for events and scholarly exchange.
• Vintage Band FestivalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe HBS collaborates with the Vintage Band Festival for joint events including the 2026 Early Brass Festival to be held July 31-August 2 in Northfield, MN alongside the 20th anniversary of the Vintage Band Festival.
• International Society for the Investigation and Promotion of Wind Music (IGEB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint conference held in 2006 with IGEB titled 'Music Away from Home: Wind Music and Cultural Identity' in Northfield, MN.
• Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse LyoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of the Arban & Kosleck 200 symposium in November 2025 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the births of Jean-Baptiste Arban and Julius Kosleck. The CNSMD Lyon served as the venue and co-organizer for this international conference.
• Pendragon PresscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCollaborative publication partnership for the Bucinia: The Historic Brass Society Series monographs. Pendragon Press distributed these publications which are now out of print.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• International Trumpet Guild: Professional organization for trumpet players worldwide, publishing the ITG Journal. While focused broadly on trumpet performance, ITG's historic and natural trumpet content directly intersects with HBS's scholarly brass mission.
• International Horn Society: International scholarly society for horn players, publishing The Horn Call journal. IHS's coverage of historic horn repertoire and performance practice overlaps directly with HBS's scholarly content, including some Christopher Monk Award recipients who are horn specialists.
• American Musical Instrument Society: Scholarly society dedicated to musical instruments that publishes the peer-reviewed journal 'American Musical Instrument Society Journal.' AMIS is the closest US-based peer to HBS given overlapping focus on instrument history, organology, and brass instrument scholarship.
• International Trombone Association: International scholarly society for trombone players, publishing the ITA Journal. Similar to ITG and IHS, ITA addresses historic trombone repertoire and overlaps with HBS's scholarly brass coverage, making it a directly comparable specialty society.
• Early Music America: North American organization supporting the early music field, including period brass performance. EMA publishes a magazine and convenes conferences, serving a directly overlapping member base of historically informed performers and scholars that includes HBS's core audience.
• Galpin Society: The Galpin Society is an organization for the study of musical instruments and a Core HBS partner. It publishes the Galpin Society Journal and operates in a directly adjacent scholarly space covering organology, overlapping significantly with HBS's historic instrument research focus.

Broad incumbents

• American Musicological Society: Large general musicology organization with which HBS has a Core strategic partnership. AMS publishes the Journal of the American Musicological Society and serves a much broader scholarly community, but encompasses historic brass research as a sub-specialty.
• International Musicological Society: Global musicological society with which HBS has a Core strategic partnership, having co-hosted a brass-focused symposium at the 18th IMS Congress in Zurich. IMS serves a broader international musicology community while HBS specializes in brass.
• National Association for Music Education: Large US-based music education organization serving music teachers and students. While not a direct competitor, NAfME represents a related professional society model and serves as a benchmark for non-profit music organization scale and structure.

Others

• Historic Brass Today (HBS internal publication): While HBS's own publication, comparable to publications from other specialty music societies. Magazine-format content from organizations like American Music Teacher (MTNA) or similar society magazines offers structural comparison points.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@historicbrasssociety
• Facebookfacebook.com/historicbrass
• Instagraminstagram.com/historicbrass
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/historic-brass-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Historic Brass Society, Inc.