Brass Alive 2005
This article is reproduced with kind permission of the British Bandsman
When introducing the Brass Alive campaign at the beginning of 2005, we at British Bandsman had no real expectation of the level of participation that it would attract from bands and other organisations. In the end, well over100 events took place throughout the UK during the last week of May under the umbrella of National Brass Band Week and, since then, we have been carefully examining all the submissions that we have been sent by bands wishing to be considered for the ?2,000 prize offered by BB for the "mostsignificant contribution to National Brass Band Week".
The panel of judges, consisting of Robert Morgan (Chairman of the British Federation of Brass Bands), Alan McLaren (President of the Scottish Brass Band Association), Iwan Fox (editor of 4barsrest.com) and Trevor Caffull(Managing Director of S.P.&S. Ltd.), was impressed by a number of submissions, not least those from Creetown Silver Band, Newstead Welfare and Stalham Brass Band.
Ultimately, it came down to two bands. Barton Town Band, from North Lincolnshire, and Jedforest Instrumental Band, from the Scottish Borders. The panel was evenly split, but unanimous in that it was a very closecontest and, as its Chairman, it was left to my casting vote to determine the destination of the prize.
On the basis that neither band deserved to lose, such was the quality of both their presentations and their overall contributions, and following discussion with the other judges, it was decided that the prize be shared,with each band receiving ?1,000. Barton Town and Jedforest Instrumental are beacons of excellence who understand the importance both of promotion in the local community and investment in youth activities.
On hearing the news of the band?s success, Barton Town's Chairman, JonathonEvison said to BB: "I was delighted with the efforts of the band throughout Brass Band Week and I am extremely proud to belong to such a dedicated and hard-working group of people. This prize will be used as matched funding for an Arts Council Grant recently given to our youth band". He continued: "We were determined from the outset to exploit as many opportunities to promote the brass band movement and, in the process, hopefully recruit new children for the youth band. By having displays in a museum, library and art gallery we were able to reach people without the need to create an audience. By preparing articles in a journalistic manner, we made it easy for the media to give us the desired coverage. Perhaps the most important aspect of the week was the school assemblies. By exposing children and young people to our music and heritage, we not only recruit thenext generation of musicians, but we also we go a long way to creating future audiences, a 'win-win' situation that, if applied throughout the country, would see the reversal of the decline in people taking up brass instruments securing the future of all brass bands".
Jonathon Evison concluded: "It is important for the movement that we all work together, learn from each other, develop and improve ideas which will allow us all to move forward, perhaps an annual conference is the next step. In a time when many traditional activities are disappearing, the British brass band, with its working class heritage, is an oasis of talent and a beacon to society".
David Sutherland of Jedforest Instrumental was overjoyed to hear of the Jedburgh band's success: "We are delighted to be one of the joint winners of the Brass Alive Award. Almost as good as the prize itself will be the publicity, especially locally. The award will be a tremendous boost for the morale of all players, especially the younger ones".
David continued: "Over the past six years, we?ve grown from a non-contesting band with just a few players to a 2nd Section band with a 4th Section junior band, both finishing top of their sections at the recent Brass in the Parkcontest. We've done this by always driving the band forward and, in that, we are very fortunate in having Alan Fernie as our Musical Director and Cameron Mabon as our Bandmaster".
Commenting on the band's approach to promotion, David Sutherland said: "Wehave two brass weeks ? the national one and a local Borders one, with our opening concert on Saturday 24 September in Jedburgh Town Hall. We use the opportunities in both to raise public awareness to the maximum. Some of the events we would do anyway, but focusing them into one week increases their impact. As a result, we've now got a new Training Band of 25 young players, all recruited during Brass Alive, and our concerts are a sell-out". David concluded: "Brass bands are enjoying a revival in our small town and events like Brass Alive are playing a big part in it".
In coming weeks we will focus on the events that brought success to these two bands, with a look at the philosophy that drives both of them. In the meantime, we would like to thank everyone that supported Brass Alive. Onbehalf of the judges, everyone at BB and all of our readers, congratulations to Barton Town and Jedforest Instrumental, two shining examples to every band in the country.
Kenneth Crookston,
Editor, British Bandsman
