Members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Brass Bands recently met up with leading figures of Brass Bands England at Portcullis House in Westminster.
MPs and BBE
The meeting was chaired by Angela Smith, MP for Penistone & Stocksbridge, with Mike Kilroy, Chair of Brass Bands England, Roy Terry, BBE's Parliamentary Liaison Officer and Paul Hindmarsh leading the brass band representation.
Paul had been asked by BBE to present the MPs with a personal perspective on high quality brass band music making that has ranged from the pioneering work of evolutionary figures such Herbert Whiteley in 1913, via Geoffrey Brand, Elgar Howarth and Eric Ball, to the major competitions, his own experiences at the BBC, the RNCM Brass Band Festival and the recent crop of British Composer Award winners and nominees.
Opportunity
Paul told 4BR: "I greatly valued the opportunity of being able to share my passion and perspectives on the high points of the brass band repertoire, and was delighted with the reaction from those present.
It was good to spend time with my own MP, David Rutley, who expressed his enthusiasm for the great work being achieved in his constituency by the Macclesfield Youth Band and others.
I also learned that Sir Alan Beith, for over 40 years the MP for Berwick-on-Tweed, was brought up in Poynton where I live, played 3rd cornet in the local band and loves the music of Eric Ball — an example of which I played to them."
Positive response
Speaking on behalf of BBE, Roy Terry was also pleased with the positive response from the MPs who attended:
"They clearly enjoyed the opportunity to hear some fine music from award-winning recordings — much of it new to them,” he added. "Many who were unable to be there took the trouble to send apologies and assure us of their interest."
There is clearly a tremendous amount of goodwill towards brass bands, and because much of the subsequent discussion homed in on some key issues you had the feeling that we are pushing on an open doorRoy Terry
Goodwill
He concluded on a highly positive note: "There is clearly a tremendous amount of goodwill towards brass bands, and because much of the subsequent discussion homed in on some key issues you had the feeling that we are pushing on an open door."
