Brass Bands England (BBE) has made a final call for those wishing to register to attend this weekend's Brass Band Conference in Greater Manchester.

BBE Chief Executive Officer, Kenny Crookston told 4BR: "We're aware of a number of people who have indicated at recent major banding events that they were keen to come to our Conference on Saturday 28th September and we want to make sure that they don't miss out through not having access to the registration process."

Register

People can still register at https://www.bbe.org.uk/civicrm/event/info%3Fid%3D44%26reset%3D1, or can call 01226 771015.

Tickets for the Conference, which will take place at The Life Centre, 235 Washway Road, Sale M33 4BP, are £10 (members) and £15 (non-members), while organisations that are members of BBE are each entitled to two free places. A buffet lunch will be provided.

The UniBrass organisation also has a limited number of free tickets available for its members which can be obtained by contacting andy.straiton@unibrass.co.uk.

Topics

Registration opens at 9.30am when the BBE AGM will also take place (members only), with the main conference events beginning at 10.20am following tea and coffee at 10.00am.

The main topic for discussion this year surrounds the issue of contesting — its purpose and current structure.

The discussion panel (which will take questions) will include Ulf Rosenberg (President — European Brass Band Association), Martin Mortimer (Organiser — British Open Brass Band Championship), Andy Straiton (Chair — UniBrass Foundation), Martin Gernon (Organiser — BrassPass Band of the Year), James Garlick (Conductor — Boarshurst Band) and David Hirst (Association of Brass Band Adjudicators).

There will also be a keynote address by Professor Edward Gregson, breakout sessions on Diversity and Inclusion, Copyright, Creative Funding, Mental Health and Child Performance Licensing.

With a diverse range of topics on the agenda and expert practitioners in each area of focus, we are looking forward to a rewarding and enjoyable dayBBE CEO, Kenny Crookston

Awards

The event will close at approximately 4.30pm with the first presentation of the Brass Band England Awards to deserving members of the community.

Kenny Crookston concluded: "With a diverse range of topics on the agenda and expert practitioners in each area of focus, we are looking forward to a rewarding and enjoyable day, which we hope will provide inspiration for advancement in all areas of brass banding in the years ahead.

Everyone in the banding community is welcome to come along and contribute and we look forward to seeing you in Sale on Saturday."