Brass Bands England (BBE) has revealed that it has doubled its membership figure since it received its current round of Arts Council England (ACE) funding in April 2018.

The current figure stands at 378 organisations representing around 550 individual groups. The landmark figure was reached this week when BBE welcomed Gillingham Imperial Silver Band to its membership ranks.

Endorsement

Speaking about the success, BBE CEO, Kenneth Crookston, told 4BR: "This is a significant endorsement of the outstanding work carried out throughout England by our staff members over the past 21 months.

Brass Bands England exists to support brass bands at every level in achieving their own goals, and this latest milestone is a reflection of our profile being raised through a number of our leading initiatives."

Driving force

A driving force behind the success has been BBE's popular Artistic and Player Development events and BandSafe training, whilst there has been critical endorsement of the revamped National Youth Championships and the organisation's Brass Band Conference.

He added: "These are key elements of what we offer alongside the varied member benefits like our Child Performance Licensing solution, discounts on insurance and events, Making Music UK associate membership and the advocacy provided by our highly professional staff members based in our Barnsley offices."

This is a significant endorsement of the outstanding work carried out throughout England by our staff members over the past 21 monthsCEO, Kenneth Crookston.

Year ahead

Looking ahead to the coming year, he said: "We're optimistic that 2020 will bring further exciting announcements and success — starting with further training days and the National Youth Championships in Sheffield on 28th March. All this and we hope to attract even more new members."

For further details about the events, workshop training and National Youth Championships, go to www.bbe.org.uk