Brass Bands England's annual Band Conference will take place from the LifeCentre in Manchester on Saturday 25th September.

The free on-line, live-streamed event, will feature a keynote speech from Bramwell Tovey, as well as a diverse series of creative topics, speakers and performances under the collective theme of 'Improving our Art'.

Register

If you wish to be a part of it there is still time to register at: https://www.bbe.org.uk/civicrm/event/info?id=192&reset=1

Keynote lead

The event will open with a short performance by the St Helen's Youth Band, followed by keynote speaker, Bramwell Tovey.

It will be followed by an interactive discussion session tackling the conference topic, 'How do we improve our art?' facilitated by BBE's Sarah Baumann and Alex Parker.

After lunch, participants should have their instruments to hand for a fast-paced 10-minute masterclass with trombonist Carol Jarvis, which will provide an adrenaline boost ahead of the announcement of the winners of the Brass Band England Awards 2021.

Workshops

The afternoon 'Journey of Collaboration' workshop will be led by composer Liz Lane, before the event concludes with a Panel Discussion on the theme of 'The Creative Case for Diversity' led by Arts Council England's Director of Diversity, Abid Hussain.

The day's events will be a mixture of live and pre-recorded content that will be free to access to all who register in advance.

Events will be streamed by www.BrassPass.tv with opportunity for those watching at home to send in questions and participate in workshops.

It is our opportunity as a community to come together to celebrate what we do, network with others and hear from inspirational speakers within our sectorBBE

Free and accessible

A BBE spokesperson stated: "It is our opportunity as a community to come together (although still virtually) to celebrate what we do, network with others and hear from inspirational speakers within our sector."