The UniBrass Foundation has announced a subsidised conducting course for student conductors

The day long initiative will take place on Saturday 30th November, at the University of Nottingham led by Russell Gray and has gained support from Arts Council England and Besson Instruments.

The day will begin at 10.30am at Holy Trinity Church in Lenton, Nottingham and will see delegates given the opportunity to conduct the University of Nottingham Brass Band alongside Russell's expert guidance.

New format

The initiative will follow the new Conductors Development Programme format created through a partnership between Brass Bands England (BBE) and the National Association of Brass Band Conductors (NABBC).

BBE CEO, Kenny Crookston told 4BR: "We are very pleased that UniBrass is leading this workshop.

UniBrass and its student conductors represents the next generation of our community who will lead bands into the future, so we hope the delegates will learn new skills and take the first step onto this continual development programme."

Gray lead

Russell Gray has gained a worldwide reputation as a brass band conductor, whilst the University of Nottingham Brass Band has been a regular competitor at the popular UniBrass Championships.

It is hoped that the students will be able to take a great deal of experience from the day to help in their preparations with their bands for the 10th UniBrass Championship contest in February 2020.

Exciting step

This is the first education event, outside of the contest weekend, that the UniBrass Foundation has hosted, with Andy Straiton, Chairman of the UniBrass Foundation telling 4BR: "This is an exciting next step in the progression of UniBrass.

It's important that students get the opportunity to learn from artists of the highest calibre and so I hope that this will be a richly rewarding day for all those involved."

It's important that students get the opportunity to learn from artists of the highest calibre and so I hope that this will be a richly rewarding day for all those involvedAndy Straiton, Chairman of the UniBrass Foundation

Register

The day costs just £10 to register and includes all course materials as well as a buffet lunch.

To ensure the event is accessible to all there is an amount of money provided by the Arts Council to help subsidise travel costs for participants that may need it.

Please indicate if you wish to apply for this fund on the registration form.

To attend the course go to bbe.org.uk/events by Sunday 10th November 2019.

Please email andy.straiton@unibrass.co.uk if you have any queries.