'It was just what we needed!'

That was Brass Band England Chairman Mike Kilroy’s verdict on last week’s meeting he attended alongside Roy Terry, of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Brass Bands and officers of Arts Council England (ACE), led by their Chief Executive, Alan Davey.

Congratulations

The meeting was held following the recent official announcement of an increase in ACE funding to Brass Bands England from £62,000 to £142,000 per year, with ACE Chief Executive Alan Davey congratulating Mike and BBE on their presentation of such a well-articulated vision of the organisation’s future work and development.

Part of that funding application highlighted the fact that in 2013 English brass bands had successfully obtained £170,000 for projects under the Grants for the Arts scheme, with Alan Davey stating that ACE was now welcoming yet more bids for high quality projects.

Collaboration

The meeting also discussed how ACE grants could facilitate brass band involvement in collaborative projects such as composer Gavin Higgins’ brass band score for an upcoming project with Ballet Rambert, and the Durham Brass Festival.

Interestingly, responding to an observation that ACE provides funds for international jazz festivals in the UK, Alan Davey also explained that ACE was now able to act as a contact point for applications for European funding, whilst in education, he highlighted the need to encourage more young people to take up brass instruments.

Confirmation was also given of the further three year funding of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain.

Take it Away

BBE concerns over the costs community bands faced when trying to acquire instruments for young players was also highlighted, with BBE asked to help publicise ACE’s ‘Take It Away’ scheme which offers interest free loans for the purchase of instruments.

Bias

BBE's Parliamentary Liaison Officer Roy Terry meanwhile raised the issue of perceived bias against brass bands in parts of the education system — driven by an ill-informed musical snobbery, ‘relevance’ to young people, and cultural stereotyping which claims that brass bands are not an appropriate musical form for young people especially from minority ethnic backgrounds.

BBE was encouraged by Alan Davey’s response to discuss how this issue could be addressed, particularly to ensure that such views could in no way influence the way ACE officers evaluate the work of Music Education Hubs.

The meeting provided an immensely valuable opportunity for clearing away misconceptions about possible anti-band bias in the way ACE allocates funding and improving the quality of dialogue between ACE and the brass banding communityBBE

Immensely valuable

A BBE spokesperson told 4BR: "The meeting provided an immensely valuable opportunity for clearing away misconceptions about possible anti-band bias in the way ACE allocates funding and improving the quality of dialogue between ACE and the brass banding community."

It was also agreed that further regular meetings between the organisations would be put in place, aided by the news that at a subsequent meeting, Sir Kevin Barron was elected chair of the All Party Group in succession to Angela Smith.

The BBE spokesperson added: "A debt of gratitude is owed to Angela for her persistence in ensuring the re-birth of the group."