Mr Craigie (65) started playing carols with the band more than 50 years ago, at the age of 14.
By the age of 19, he was studying music at the University of Otago and had already become the band's conductor.
After some time away, he returned to the band in the late 1980s and has been there ever since.
Yesterday, he was back in his element, performing with band members in Forth St, Mosgiel, at the start of a series of roving performances outside houses in the area, running from 6pm until 7.30pm.
''We get good feedback. That's the enjoyable part of it, seeing the people coming out of their houses.
''They stand with their neighbours to listen; that's the rewarding thing.
''It's just giving enjoyment to people.
''We're doing something for the public. It's good to keep people happy and and bring people a little bit of pleasure.''
Yesterday he was with one of two groups of band members, each about a dozen strong, that began their annual performances more than week earlier than last year.
Band members will be performing on Mosgiel residential streets most Tuesdays and Thursdays until Christmas and will also give pre-Christmas concerts, including at Brooklands Village and Chatsford Retirement Village in Mosgiel.
Last year the carols started in early December and there were interruptions from the weather, so the band decided to start earlier this year, he said.
The Mosgiel band was formed in 1872 and was one of the oldest continuously operating brass bands in the country, he said.
