Brass Bands England (BBE) is delighted to announce that it has doubled the number of organisations in membership since its latest round of Arts Council England (ACE) funding began in April 2018. Having previously represented a total of 189 bands, the current figure of 378 organisations, representing around 550 individual groups, was reached this week when Gillingham Imperial Silver Band took out membership.
BBE Chief Executive Officer, Kenneth Crookston, commented: “This is a significant endorsement of the outstanding work carried out throughout England by our staff members over the past 21 months. Brass Bands England exists to support brass bands at every level in achieving their own goals, and this latest milestone is a reflection of our profile being raised through the presentation of our Artistic and Player Development events, BandSafe training, Youth Champs and the Brass Band Conference, plus the provision of varied member benefits like our Child Performance Licensing solution, discounts on insurance and events, Making Music UK affiliate membership and the advocacy provided by our highly professional staff members based in our Barnsley offices.”
He added: “2019 was memorable for BBE and we are optimistic that the year ahead will bring further exciting announcements. The first major event in our diary in 2020 is the Youth Champs in Sheffield on 28 March, when we hope to build upon the outstanding success of last year’s event in Warwick, but before that we have a number of training events about to take place and we will be delighted to welcome new and existing members around the country to these.”
Full details of all BBE events and information on member benefits and how to join are available on the BBE website at www.bbe.org.uk