My Top 10 Brass Band Highlights in 2025

My Favourite Banding Moments from this Year

As we enter 2026, I thought I’d go for a quick skip down memory lane and revisit some of my favourite brass band moments from the last 12 months!

A Very Brassy Wedding

Of course, the event that had to take the top spot was tying the knot with my Sop-playing other half, Robert. It was the moment where I realised just how much banding has given me. My two banding besties of over 12 years, Natalie and Matt Shaw, who have featured in so many adventures documented in this blog were my Maid of Honour and Musical Director (and composer!) respectively. Both did so much to make our day so special and I will forever be grateful. Walking down the aisle towards my husband-to-be, who I met through banding to a work arranged and conducted by one of my best friends and played by a band of our closest banding friends will be a moment that will forever live in my heart. Absolutely beyond special and a real ‘pinch me’ moment. I felt like I was in a film!

Having our first walk as husband and wife be to the soundtrack of Fantasmic (as two massive Disney fans) arranged by our friend, Adam Taylor, was a very fitting way to enter into married life! How lucky we are to have such talented, lovely friends!

Watching the looks on the faces of non-banding guests, as our bander guests flooded the dance floor to sing our parts to The Floral Dance as one would sing along to something like Mr Brightside, was also a particular highlight!

Read the full story here.

RNCM International Brass Band Festival

The RNCM International Brass Band Festival in January brought together some of the world’s best brass bands for a weekend of incredible music. With so many fantastic performances and incredible pieces on show during the event, it’s hard to narrow down a favourite, but some of my favourite moments included:

• The world premiere of Andrea Price’s And Earth Raised Up Her Head performed by the Black Dyke Band and conducted by Price - this was an incredibly evocative and illustrative work

• Silver-backed Fox by Andrea Hobson and performed by Flugelhorn soloist, Jen Oliviero and the Athena Brass Band - this was a stunning solo performance of a sublime solo work for flugelhorn

  
  

• Elektrodesign by Elisabeth Vannebo performed by the Foden’s Band - an emotional rollercoaster of a piece

  
  

• Silver Rose by Liz Lane performed by Brighouse and Rastrick Band - a powerful work featuring the poetry of Isaac Rosenberg

  
  

• Storm! By Thibaut Bruniaux - an explosive, energetic and vibrant work with a cracking bit of rock drum kit featured

I’m excited to see what the 2026 RNCM International Brass Band Festival has in store for us!

Explore the 2026 programmes here.

Rainford Band’s Summer Pops

At Rainford, we’re lucky to be in a band that is so well supported by our local community, so the Summer Pops series of concerts in July are always a highlight of the year. This year was especially enjoyable for me as it featured quite a few of my favourite pieces, including getting to perform one of my favourite solos, The Children of Sanchez and Alan Catherall’s unbeatable arrangement of MacArthur Park. Also, one of my banding besties, Matt, conducting the concerts made them quite special too!

Dances and Alleluias - Rochdale Contest

It had been a little while since I’d enjoyed working on a test piece, as much as I did working on Philip Sparkes, Dances and Alleluias for this year’s Rochdale contest. What a piece! Usually by the second or third week I can feel my enthusiasm waning when working solely on a test piece, but it wasn’t the case with Dances and Alleluias. Sparke’s writing is just a joy to work on and I thoroughly enjoyed our MD’s approach to working on a test piece.

To come away with a third place trophy was the icing on the cake!

Read the full story here.

Whit Friday

Whit Friday is always one of my favourite days in the banding calendar - I believe it should be a National Holiday, quite frankly. I especially love it when I get to go round the Saddleworth route. So, when my husband’s band, Wingates, needed a cornet player, it didn’t take much persuading! Sun in the sky, marching down to a fun arrangement of George Ezra’s ‘Shotgun’, listening to some brilliant bands and a few beers shared with friends - oh, and teaching the next generation the essential skill of using a lyre as a beer opener, it’s what it’s all about!

Women Composers Brass Directory

It’s not a secret that despite being in 2025, music for brass bands composed by women has been disastrously overlooked for far too long. After seeing that all of the test pieces for both the Regionals and the Spring Festival next year are written by men, I set myself the task to see just how much music for brass bands, composed by women is out there. I can confirm that the amount of music written by women for brass bands (from solos to major test pieces) is not limited in the slightest and we are very much behind the times and our European, American and Australian counterparts when it comes to commissioning and programming test pieces written by women in our contests.

Creating the Women Composers Brass Directory was a fascinating experience and offered the chance to explore so many incredible new works. Since its inception, thanks to so many incredible banders who have reached out to submit works written for brass band by women, the directory now features over 100 works and growing!

If you’re looking for a test piece, solo work or some pieces for your next concert - check out the It’s Not a Trumpet Women Composers Brass Directory. Know of a work that isn’t featured? Submit it today!

2025 BBE Brass Band Conference

The 2025 BBE Brass Band Conference is always an insightful day that offers so many opportunities to find out what amazing work people within our community are doing to further, not only the brass band movement, making music and learning an instrument more accessible to more people. I was beyond inspired by all the speakers I had the privilege to listen to, especially Anna Campbell’s research into the experiences of women in brass bands and the presentation by London Metropolitan Brass on the importance of supporting adult learners within our community.

It was a massive honour to be asked to join the panel discussion about the next generation of brass banding, alongside Gregor Spence, Daniel Hall and Franklin Onyeso. From discussing how to make the most of social media to help bands to increase their reach and promote their concerts to highlighting the importance of creating opportunities for the next generation of banders to make an impact through composing, conducting, adjudicating and contributing to decision-making processes, it was a thought-provoking and incredibly rewarding experience.

Read the full story and highlights here.

Contest Performances with Rainford Band

Although the set works for this year’s Regionals and Grand Shield weren’t my favourite to work on, when you play for a band that you so enjoy spending time with, makes contest prep and the contest day itself a highlight. It’s during the process of preparing and competing that some of the best memories are made, in my opinion. Whether it’s silly in-jokes created and shared at the pub, having a laugh on the coach or seeing your hard work come together on stage, being part of such a brilliant band that makes you not only want to work harder, but makes the experience of working for a contest so rewarding is very special indeed.

Brass in Concert 2025

Brass in Concert is always a hotbed of innovation, incredible performances and forward-thinking programming and this year was no exception. Although I thoroughly enjoyed every programme, the top three that stole my heart were from Brass Band Schoonhoven, the cooperative band and The Brighouse and Rastrick Band.

Read my full highlights here.

Christmas with Rainford Band

Like I say, we’re very lucky to a band that is well supported within our local community and, similar to the Summer Pops, performing at Christmas to an audience who prioritise your performances as part of their festive plans is very special indeed. As much as I adore our formal concerts, for me a particular highlight of the festive season is the village piling into our local pub to have a good old singalong whilst we make our way through the carol book dressed in our festive finest. In a world that seems to be pushing towards making Christmas a cold, commercialised, retail event - standing in the middle of a pub in the heart of the local community surrounded by people filled with Christmas spirit (both metaphorical and alcoholic, I’m sure), with big smiles on their faces as they raise a glass and belt out a bit of Hark the Herald brings back a bit of much needed Christmas magic for this cynical Scrooge!

Bonus: Banders Bingo

I couldn't leave out the fab night I had at Banders Bingo! This is such a brilliant concept created by a group of passionate banders! I really hope I can get to another event this year!

Read the full review here

Thank you for a brilliant 2025 - here is to 2026

It would be unforgivable for me to sign off without taking a moment to thank you, dear reader. 2025 has been the biggest year for It’s Not a Trumpet. I’ve been very lucky to cover and be a part of some incredible events and speak to so many of you lovely lot, both online and in person and there isn’t a day goes by where I am not incredibly grateful for you being here and supporting my little part of the internet.

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