Brass Bands England will host a Brass Band Conference at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on Saturday the 3rd of December.

The event has been organised by BBE in response to the rising swell of calls for positive action to create a common vision and future focus for brass bands in the UK.

Platform

In a statement released to the press BBE said: "The conference will provide a platform for people and organisations from every facet of the brass band community to contribute to the development of a four-year vision and strategic plan that will form the basis for Brass Bands England and others to work towards.

In the past year or so Brass Bands England have enjoyed the benefit of additional funding from Arts Council England that has enabled the organisation to consolidate, grow its network and reputation within the arts and culture sector and government.

The additional staffing resource has broadened the reach of BBE and this has led to a better understanding of the issues and needs that brass bands need addressing and support with at the present time."

Two parts

It is understood that the day will be split into two distinct sections:

In the morning delegates will be welcomed by Howard Snell who will talk about his vision for the future of brass bands and explain some of the elements of the day ahead.

The morning session will include the official launch of two new services from Brass Bands England.

The Virtual Box Office:
A new on-line ticketing and marketing service for bands that will enable audiences to book tickets for events 24/7.

The data collected from these events will be used by staff at the national office to provide marketing support to future events that are held in the geographical area. It will also help to increase audience engagement and create a clear picture of the audience profile.

Bandsafe:
This is a safeguarding process that will enable bands to become Bandsafe accredited.

This will ensure that bands have all of the appropriate systems and processes in place to reassure parents and carers that your band provides a safe environment for their children and vulnerable adults. It also helps the band when applying for funding etc.

National Youth Forum

A number of other events will take place, as BBE also states:

"The new National Youth Forum will hold its first ever meeting and three new Regional Forums will meet for the first time too. These are intended to be provide BBE with intelligence and information from grass roots level in the areas in which it operates.

Repertoire commissioning

Paul Hindmarsh the Chair of the EBBA Music Committee will chair a debate around repertoire for Brass Band that will be focusing on the direction of music written specifically the idiom. The outcome of this discussion will be to create a commissioning strategy for the future."

It was also announced that Brass Bands England will hold its Annual General Meeting during the morning session.

There will also be an opportunity for networking and side debates that are of specific interest.

Details of these will be announced nearer to the event.

The conference will provide a platform for people and organisations from every facet of the brass band community to contribute to the development of a four-year vision and strategic plan that will form the basis for Brass Bands EnglandBBE

Discussions and exercise

BBE also stated that the afternoon will feature other discussions and exercises.

"In the afternoon there will be an interactive visioning exercise jointly facilitated by Howard Snell and Mike Kilroy where all delegates will carefully explore the current situation, establish the needs of brass bands across a broad spectrum of areas and then create the basis of a strategic action plan that will form the basis for the Brass Bands England ACE funding application and delivery focus until 2022.

This will be firmly focused on strategies to address the needs identified, inform the shape of future support and provide guidance to enhance the development of Brass Bands in this country.

There will be representatives from all aspects of the brass band community and other support organisations such as AoBBA, NABBC, the industry sector, Brass Band press and media and strategic partners such as the Brass Band Associations, Unibrass and Arts Council England. The fine details of the conference will be announced in due course."

Opportunity

The statement closed by saying: "This conference will provide an opportunity for people from all aspects of the community to proactively contribute to the future approach and delivery of support and promotion of every element of brass banding positively.

Your opinion counts and is very important to us. Brass Bands England look forward to welcoming you on the day."

Registration

Registration will be in the foyer of the Bridgewater Hall at 9.30 am with the event commencing at 10.00 am in the Sir John Barbirolli Room. Refreshments will be available throughout the day.

Early expression of interest is recommended as space is limited.

Please express your intention to attend by contacting Brass Bands England National Office by email giving your name and organisation to Louise Jones, natoffice@brassbandsengland.co.uk