BBE publish consultation results on National Youth Championships

BBE state that they have received "very strong support" from respondents over far reaching changes — although the exact number of people taking part in the process has not yet been revealed.

Brass Bands England has announced the results of its recent consultation on the future direction of the National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, as well as the details for its 2019 event.

On its release, BBE stated that over the past month they had received "very strong support"from respondents, with over 85% rating the proposals as 'good' or better.

How many, is many?

However, it has not been revealed by the organisation how many people, bands or organisations took part in the process, although BBE say they did receive, "many differing opinions and ideas".

4BR has asked for clarification on the matter, but at present has not yet received a reply.

Rewarding project

Commenting on the changes, BBE CEO, Kenneth Crookston, said: "On behalf of Brass Bands England I would like to thank everyone who took part in the consultation process over the future of the National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.

This has been a very rewarding project, especially in relation to the quality of the feedback we have received from many different areas of the brass band community.

We are very confident that the future of the Championships will be brighter as a result of the changes that will be implemented at next year's event and look forward to welcoming as many aspiring young musicians as possible to Warwick School on 30th March 2019."

Championship changes

Amongst the changes announced, the Championships will now be held, whenever possible, on the last weekend in March at a venue within 2 hours drive of Leicester; although the location will be subject to change each year.

Venues will be chosen on their ability to accommodate the weekend event to the highest possible standards.

Meanwhile, competitive changes will see the upper age limits amended to 12 years in the Debut Section, 14 in the Elementary Section, 16 in the Intermediate Section and 18 (with exceptional circumstances being taken into account for those older but still in compulsory education) in the Championship Section — reflecting standards already set in place by Music for Youth.

Bands gaining an invitation from the Development and Championship Section to compete at the European Youth Championships will be able to compete there under EBBA regulations.

In a bid to encourage increased participation, 'non standard' instrumentation will now be allowed (including trumpets, French horns and plastic instruments) in all sections.

Education restrictions

The Championships will also be restricted to youngsters still in full-time compulsory education, with those attending colleges, universities or conservatoires no longer eligible to take part.

BBE sees this as a way to encourage greater opportunities for developing young musicians, especially in community bands, whilst making a clear distinction between the Youth and UniBrass Championships.

New venue

It was also announced that the 2019 Championships will be held at Warwick School on Saturday 30th March.

The 800-seat Warwick Hall, opened in 2016, will host the larger sections, whilst the Bridge House Theatre, seating over 300, will host the others, all in the beautiful surroundings of Warwick School.

The change to a Saturday date has been made in response to requests from bands to help deal with late-night travel home on a Sunday evening.

Test piece

A BBE spokesperson added: "Continuing to host the event in an easily accessed location will also allow as many bands as possible to travel to the contest, hopefully resulting in it growing to become a truly national event in the years ahead."

It was also reveled that the set test-piece for the Championship Section will be 'Corineus', by Christopher Bond.

The piece is based on the legendary founder of Cornwall and was first performed by Cory Band at the RNCM Festival of Brass in Manchester in 2018.

It is published by the composer and available from his website at: www.christopherbondmusic.co.uk

This has been a very rewarding project, especially in relation to the quality of the feedback we have received from many different areas of the brass band communityBBE CEO, Kenneth Crookston

Thanks

The spokesperson added: "The team at BBE would like to thank everyone who took part in the consultation as the results represented a full spectrum of people across the brass band community.

There were some excellent ideas as well as constructive criticism, which we will act upon in our preparations for future events.

We are now issuing a new guidance document, which incorporates some changes from the initial consultation document. We encourage all participants at the National Youth Championships to read it and get a full understanding of both its principles and detail.

We have also added an appendix to the document to outline the changes that have been made as a result of the consultation.