One of England's leading youth bands recently joined forces for a joint fundraising concert, with the initiative raising over £900 for the coffers of both Audley Brass and Lions Youth Brass.

It meant that Audley received a timely boost following their appearance at the Third Section National Championships, whilst it meant another important step in the efforts of Lions Youth to meet their £25,000 target for their once in a lifetime performance at the 2019 European Championships.

Pride

Tom Hancock, who is the MD of Audley Brass and also conducts the Lions Junior Band, told 4BR: "I'm enormously proud of our growing partnership with Lions Youth Brass, having spent 20 years there as a player, tutor and conductor.

I have a fantastic relationship with their conductor Nigel Birch, who generously purchased our National Finals test-piece 'Episodes' to help with our costs — so we'll be returning the favour by purchasing their European piece!"

Partnership

The links between the bands means that there are a number of past Lions players now enjoying their senior banding at Audley, with six currently playing with both ensembles.

In response Lions MD, Nigel Birch, added: "I'm delighted we have been able to develop a great partnership. I see Audley as an ideal organisation for players to develop their music making and also have the opportunity of enjoying different experiences from those they get at Lions.

Tom is developing his conducting and growing with the success of Audley. He's keen and dedicated, so couple that with his knowledge and experience and I expect his conducting career to continue to thrive."

The links between the bands means that there are a number of past Lions players now enjoying their senior banding at Audley, with six currently playing with both ensembles4BR

Joint ventures

He added: "At Lions we will continue to support players into Audley Brass. I would like to thank them for the generous offer to purchase our European test-piece and look forward to a range of great joint events in the future."

It is now hoped that there will be further joint ventures in the pipeline for 2019, including Audley tutors leading a workshop day with Lions Juniors, a Youth Nationals/Area contest preview evening as well as the joint concert becoming an annual event.