Today, Saturday 25 March, the National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2023, Youth Champs, welcomed over 1,200 young people to Stockport Grammar School in Greater Manchester to perform in this important national event for youth banding.
Featuring 38 bands, a record for recent years, and hosted by compères Alex Humphreys and David Hayward, both halls were full of enthusiastic supporters. The event attracted over 1,000 audience members, another record since pre-2020, to enjoy a day of high-quality music-making. Photos are available here.
ABRSM Championship Section
- 1st Place: Youth Brass 2000
- 2nd Place: Lancashire Youth Brass Band
- 3rd Place: Macclesfield Youth Brass Band
Best soloist: Hannah Taylor, cornet, Lions Youth Brass
Adjudicated by: Tom Hutchinson and Leigh Baker
Performance Section
- 1st Place: Seindorf Ieuenctid Beaumaris
- 2nd Place: Astley Youth Band
- 3rd Place: Amersham Youth Band
Best Soloist: Osian Maloney, Cornet, Seindorf Ieuenctid Beaumaris
Adjudicated by: Jack Capstaff and Andrea Price
Besson Prodige Showcase Section
13 bands performed in this non-competitive Section, with feedback provided by adjudicators Gary Curtin and Daniel Hall.
The winning Championship Section band, Youth Brass 2000, is now eligible to represent England in the Development Section of the 2024 European Youth Brass Band Contest in Palanga, Lithuania.
Organisers Brass Bands England (BBE) would like to thank the ABRSM and Besson for sponsoring the Championship and Showcase sections respectively, as well as British Army Band Catterick, the Brass Band Conductors' Association and BBE's own Brass Foundations team for providing additional workshops for bands and audiences members.
Kenny Crookston, CEO of Brass Bands England, commented:
“The Youth Champs isn't just an important day in our national banding calendar but an essential one for the future development and growth of our community. It has been fantastic to see so many youth bands back in action this year, and to welcome new ones. Thank you to the banding community who showed up in full force to support the event and to the performers who showcased the best of youth banding to their family, friends and the general public. Next year we expect even more bands, so get ready to register yours this June!”
Those who missed out or who want to re-watch the action can do so on brasspass.tv from Monday 3 April. Please note that Youth Brass 2000 and Elland Youth Band's performances won't be available on the BrassPass platform until the week commencing 8 May due to a prior agreement with the European Brass Band Association.
Youth Champs 2024 will take place on Saturday 23 March at Dean Close School in Cheltenham. Band registration will open on 7 June 2023. To stay up-to-date with Youth Champs and other BBE news you can register for the Brass Bands England newsletter.