Brass Bands England (BBE) has been awarded £15,000 from Youth Music to support the development of its 'Youth Voice' initiative in its programmes.

'Youth Voice' will become embedded in all aspects of BBE's work, thanks to the grant from the 'Trailblazer Fund', backed by the National Lottery via Arts Council England.

Trailblazer

The 'Trailblazer Fund' offers grants of up to £30,000 to organisations in England to run projects for children and young people (25 or under) to make, learn and earn in music — and to break existing barriers.

Projects (which start between July and September 2023) should trial work for the first time and meet one or a number of themes surrounding early years, disabled, d/Deaf and neurodivergent young people, youth justice system, young people facing barriers, young adults and organisations and the workforce.

Aim

BBE CEO Kenny Crookston commented: "The Youth Voice work we have planned, funded by Youth Music, is a vital step towards BBE achieving our aim to ensure the brass band sector is an inclusive place to be, with young people engaged in a range of ways and their voices heard."

He added: "In addition to upskilling our staff team and trustees in this area, we will be launching a new Youth Voice Working Group made up of interested individuals and organisations in the sector, as well as advertising for young trustees to join the Brass Bands England board."

Get involved:

Those wanting to register their interest in joining the Group should do so using the Youth Voice Working Group application form.

The deadline for submitting expressions of interest is 9.00am on Monday 24th July.

If selected, attendance would be required for four meetings a year (September, December, March, June) held over Zoom on an evening or weekend suitable to the participants.

The Youth Voice work we have planned, funded by Youth Music, is a vital step towards BBE achieving our aim to ensure the brass band sector is an inclusive place to be, with young people engaged in a range of ways and their voices heardBBE

Interested?

BBE are particularly looking for expressions of interest from:

Young people (25 or under) currently engaged in brass banding
Leaders in youth brass banding organisations
Individuals with working experience in 'Youth Voice'
Applications for Young Trustees will open in autumn 2023.

Any questions about this opportunity can be directed to jess@bbe.org.uk