Brass Bands England (BBE) recently held its Annual General Meeting, where Chairperson Mike Kilory highlighted both the progress made, and challenges faced by the organisation.

The virtual meeting on 23rd January was attended on-line by representatives of BBE member bands and organisations, trustees and staff, who were presented with various reports for the year ending 31st March 2025.

Progress

In his report, Mike Kilroy highlighted what he referred to as, "a year of consolidation and progress", with membership increases, strengthened partnership links and enhanced "visibility, stature and influence" that continues BBE's mission to support brass bands through, "continuous improvement, organisational effectiveness and long-term sustainability."

However, he also noted that despite BBE receiving £405,809 per year in funding from Arts Council England (ACE), the organisation had also undertaken a detailed review of its work, outlook and structures.

This was to inform future funding plans based on a wider pause on grant applications until 2028 pending the outcome of the Government's independent (Baroness Hodge) review of arts and culture funding.

Very challenging

The BBE Treasurer's financial report also confirmed that the organisation had experienced what was called, "a very challenging financial year".

This had seen expenditure exceed income by £116,204 due to "committing resources before income streams had been fully secured." Reserves had therefore fallen from over £122,000 to just £6,267 at 31st March 2025, although it was stated that, "the outlook for the year ending 31 March 2026 is positive and optimistic."

The Trustees and Executive Management Team also acknowledged that this was "not an acceptable position for the future", and confirmed that, "rebuilding adequate, cash-backed reserves is a core priority within BBE's forward strategy."

As a result, BBE stated that it "expects to report improved income and expenditure results, a stronger balance sheet, and an ambitious but financially responsible plan for the 2026- 2027 financial year."

In the interim, Nigel Stevens has been appointed by the Board as Interim CEO working closely alongside Sarah Baumann as Director of Programme4BR

Reset

It was stated that a "reset of the organisation's cost base" has seen restructuring and redundancies with a new focus on delivering its award-winning Brass Foundations scheme more efficiently through the development of the Future Leaders programme.

Further streamlining of the Executive Management Team has seen the retirement of Chief Executive Officer Kenny Crookston and Chief Financial Officer Bev Shepherd.

Challenges ahead

In the interim, Nigel Stevens has been appointed by the Board as Interim CEO working closely alongside Sarah Baumann as Director of Programme, as the organisation recognised the progress made during 2024-2025 but also recognised the challenges ahead in delivering national-level support to the brass band community.