Entry details and an information pack are now available for the 2016 National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, to be held at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester on Sunday 17th April 2016. *Closing date for entries is Mon 29th Feb 2016!* Speaking of the upcoming championships, Brass Bands England Chairman, Mike Kilroy, said:
“The focus for Brass Bands England is to support and promote brass bands at every level. It is critical for the future of our brass band community that we continue to support and encourage youth development as a priority. The 2016 Championships will be a great opportunity not only to encourage excellence through competition but also to promote and showcase some of the brightest stars of the future from up to 50 youth bands from around the UK”.
At the 2015 Championships, the Northamptonshire based Youth Brass 2000 won the Championship Section and will now go on to represent England in the Premier Section at the 2016 European Youth Brass Band Contest which takes place in Lille, France on 1st May 2016. Wardle Academy is the reigning European Youth Development Section Champion and has been invited to defend its title in Lille. This enables Brass Bands England to nominate another band to represent England in this Section. Elland Silver Youth, the runner up in the 2015 National Youth Brass Band Championships Intermediate Section has accepted an invitation from the European Brass Band Association to represent England in Lille. We wish all of our representative bands the best of luck next May. The Test pieces selected for the Championship and Intermediate Sections have been provided by two rising stars of brass band music composition. ‘The Mansions of Glory’ composed by Jonathan Bates, Principal Horn with Black Dyke Band provides the test piece for the Championship Section. This was given its world premiere by the Amsterdam Staff Band at a concert to celebrate the world’s oldest Salvation Army band, Consett Corps, in May 2014. ‘Funk Engine’ will provide the test piece for the Intermediate Section. Commissioned especially for the event by Brass Bands England it is composed by Ryan Howells. Ryan is a tenor horn player and was the Tŷ Cerdd Young Composer of 2014. The entry details and pack have been emailed to interested bands and can also be viewed online using the link below. Read the information pack now