Brass Band Conference 2025: The Next Generation

The 2025 Brass Band Conference, hosted by Brass Bands England, offered the opportunity for passionate banders from all over the country to meet together, gain valuable insight from sessions and panels, and discuss key topics around the subject of the next generation of brass banding.

I was lucky enough to be invited as a panellist for the final discussion, which was a new, but enjoyable experience for me - I’ll get into that later on!

For those who couldn’t be there, here’s a quick recap of what was covered in each session and some key takeaways that offered food for thought (pardon the pun).

A Youthful Introduction and Reflections on the Past Year

The theme of this year’s conference, held at Redhills Durham Miners Hall,  was ‘The Next Generation’, so it made sense that the Redhills Youth Band opened up the day’s proceedings with a fantastic mini concert. Not only did the band sound fantastic, they played their entire set without music and emulated the kind of New Orleans-style jazz brass band with a slick rhythm section and solo improv opportunities for every member - very cool indeed! 

The conference was opened by Brass Bands England’s two Young Trustees, Hannah Beech and Reuben Tendler, before BBE CEO, Kenny Crookston took us through the key achievements made by the organisation in the last 12 months, which included:

• Almost 700 bands are registered members of BBE

• Over 1300 BOPAs issued

• Performance and competitive opportunities opened up with their Bold as Brass contest, Youth Championships, Youth Fest and Elevate programmes

• Brass Band Week and Proms in the Playground

Kenny also touched upon the recent ‘restructure’ that has made the brass band news which resulted in voluntary redundancies (including roles within the very successful Brass Foundations programme) and roles that have been either restructured or had hours reduced. The process is still ongoing, but the the organisation’s CEO says that BBE remains committed to educational opportunities and supporting the next generation. 

If I’m Allowed: An Exploration into the Experiences of Women within the Brass Band Community

The first breakout session of the day was delivered by brass bander and University of Sheffield Student’s Union Development Officer, Anna Campbell. In her insightful session, Anna presented her dissertation research on women’s experiences in brass banding.

During the session, a range of both quantitative and qualitative data was presented that highlighted issues such as:

• A lack of flexibility with rehearsals making  it difficult for women to juggle childcare and their commitment to the band

• Returning from having a child to find that their seat is no longer available

• The existence of internalised misogyny and outdated attitudes still remaining within our community 

• A lack of female representation in leadership roles. 

  
  

Her findings also showed that many women and girls in the next generation aspire to leadership roles, like adjudicating and conducting, as seen at the Unibrass Championships.

The session prompted discussion on how best to support women in banding, nurture future leaders, and ensure consistent support in every band. 

Brass Banding Continuation and Involvement Across Generations

The first panel discussion of the day featured Trustee of Unibrass - James Everitt and Brass Projects Officer for Redhills CIO and Band Manager for Durham Miners Association Brass Band - Heather Ward. The session was all about attracting young people to brass banding and retaining them within our community. 

James and Heather highlighted key points where people are more likely to drop out of banding, which included: the struggle to balance career commitments and/or childcare with band and changing priorities brought about through retirement. The session then went on to explore how we can retain people at every level.

James explored how the impact of the Unibrass Foundation is keeping young people in banding when they leave their local area to go to university and how the it has grown from a contest to a vehicle for promoting and providing opportunities for young people to get involved in brass bands.

Heather took delegates through the journey of young people from university through working life and how to prevent people from becoming disengaged with banding by mitigating risks through:

• Offering flexible rehearsals

• Self-guided sectionals

• Introducing more varied repertoire

Flowers Band:  Brass in Concert Set

The next panel discussion featured three members of the Flowers Band: Lauren Chinn, Paul Richards and Gregor Spence, who lifted the curtain on their creative process behind their Brass in Concert set and explained what it takes to create an innovative contest set. 

During the session, Lauren, Paul and Gregor outlined the band’s four-step process that covers: creativity, collaboration, commissioning and funding. They talked about how they create their set by:

• ‘Brain-dumping ideas’ 

• Deciding on themes and incorporating storytelling

• Incorporating the views and ideas of the band

• Thinking outside the box to create innovative performances

• Assembling a dedicated team with clear job roles

• Collaborating with composers and commissioning new works

• Sourcing funding to support the development of the set

It was a fascinating deep dive into what it takes to create a high-profile and innovative competitive performance. 

One of the key points highlighted in the session is not simply to view the performance as a ‘one and done’ after performing it at the contest, but the importance and value of taking the performance and replicating it for your concerts. This approach showed opportunities to create more engaging concerts for your audience, as well as opening doors to performing at different events, such as festivals or schools to demonstrate what bands can actually do away from the ‘stuffy’ stereotyping. 

Redefining the ‘Next Generation’: Why Adult Learners are the Untapped Future of Brass Banding 

This was one of my favourite sessions of the whole event. When we talk about the ‘Next Generation’ of brass banding, it tends to be the younger generation that comes to mind. However, Founder of London Metropolitan Brass, Craig Boulton and Chair of London Metropolitan Brass. Lou Flandrin, explained how the untapped potential of adult learners could contribute to the longevity of our movement. 

Founded in 2013, London Metropolitan Brass offered the opportunity for adults to try learning a brass instrument with tuition from Craig. He found instruments wherever he could get his hands on them, including eBay and set up stalls at community events to allow people to try an instrument and eventually started to learn how to repair them in order for learners to use them.

In 2024, using the findings and lessons learned with this initiative, London Metropolitan, Brass developed a new model of the course that included bespoke handouts to aid learning, sectional volunteers that ran smaller rehearsals with individual sections, concluding with a ‘graduation’ performance at the end of the course. 

Towards the end of the session there was a discussion around taking this initiative across the country to support other adults who never had the chance to learn an instrument - which this author sincerely hopes will happen!

The passion and commitment from both Craig and Lou when talking about this initiative and how it has successfully encouraged people to get into banding was so inspiring. It’s people like Lou and Craig that give me hope for the future of banding.

Key Note Speech: Martin Green

Martin Green is a renowned musician, composer and broadcaster. Although he isn’t a brass band musician, he describes himself as an enthusiastic ‘tourist’ in the world of brass banding.

He describes our movement as ‘huge, but hidden’, which I wholeheartedly agree with, and demonstrates the importance of introducing our music and our culture to new audiences by seeking out new performance opportunities that aren’t just simply competitive. 

During his keynote address, Martin introduced us to some of his work including his three-part BBC Radio 3 series, ‘Love, Spit and Valve Oil’ and his audio drama-turned stage play, Keli, that tells the story of a talented, but troubled young horn player and the power of music and community. Both works showcased the importance of brass bands, not just musically, but socially; how we turn to our ensembles as a place to escape from the pressures of everyday life. 

I can tell you that after over 20 years in brass bands, I have never heard a ‘non-bander’ speak about our community with such passion and to hit the nail on the head about why it is so important that we ensure brass banding is around for generations to come. It was also moving to see someone who, in his own words, is a ‘tourist’ rather than a musician in our community, yet is so passionate to see us survive and has created works that promote brass banding so authentically. I was in tears during his address on more than one occasion. It was honestly one of the most inspiring 50 minutes ever!

Beyond the Baton: Introducing ABRSM’s New Directing Diplomas

Sam Wyne, ABRSM Regional Development Executive for London and the South-East introduced the new range of Diplomas in Musical Direction from ABRSM. This new series of accessible qualifications are designed to support and formally recognise ensemble leaders at all levels. 

The new diplomas are:

• ARSM (Associate of the Royal Schools of Music) - Level 4 qualification: equivalent to Year 1 of an undergraduate course

• LRSM (Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music) - Level 6 qualification: equivalent to Year 3 of an undergraduate course

• FRSM (Fellowship of the Royal Schools of Music) - Level 7 qualification: equivalent to postgraduate study

Find out more about ABRSM New Directing Diplomas here.

The Next Generation of Brass Band Leaders - Panel Discussion

The final session of the day was a panel discussion all about the emerging generation of brass band leaders and the support needed for them to succeed, chaired by internationally renowned musician and musical director, Katrina Marzella-Wheeler and featuring:

• Professional composer arranger and conductor, Daniel Hall

• Composer, conductor and pianist, Franklin Onyeso

• Band manager and Solo Eb Bass Player for the Flowers Band, Gregor Spence

• Flugelhorn for the Rainford Band, writer, content creator, and digital marketing specialist, Liv Richardson (who let her in?!)

It was a fantastic experience to be a part of this panel where we covered a range of topics including our own experiences within banding and what we think banding needs to do in order to succeed and thrive, including:

• Creating more open opportunities for young people to apply to that offers experience in leadership areas, such as conducting and adjudication

• Going beyond relying on ticket sales and sourcing fundraising opportunities further afield

• The importance of experienced leaders mentoring young leaders to step into their roles

• Creating leadership roles for younger people, rather than relying on them to step into roles upon the retirement of the current generation of leaders

• The importance of having a social media strategy and learn how it works

• Working with young composers to offer fresh music within our movement and offering opportunities for them to showcase their work

  
  

Brass Bands England Awards 2025

Finally, the last item on the day’s agenda was the Brass Bands England Award Ceremony and this year’s winners were:

Rising Star (supported by ABRSM): Alec Banner

Young Bandsperson: Gregor Spence

Services to Youth (supported by YAMAHA): Anna Minear

Brass Band Conductor (supported by the Brass Band Conductor’s Association): Katrina Marzella-Wheeler

Green Hero: Threads in the Ground for Ancestral Reverb

Band Project of the Year: The Brass Brigade

Outstanding Contribution: The Beere Family and David Bennett

Lifetime Achievement: Edward Gregson

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