The Brass Band Conference is an annual event and awards ceremony providing an unmissable opportunity for brass banders from across the country to learn, share and network.
This year’s conference will be held at China Exchange, London on Saturday 19 October 2024 on the theme of Creative Communities. Conference tickets are now available to purchase from the Brass Bands England website.
Keynote speaker and special guests announced
Joining delegates in Central London will be Shri Sriram, who will be delivering the keynote address on the conference theme of ‘Creative Communities’. Shri is an award-winning composer / musician / producer, initially trained on Tablas before developing a unique style of playing his self-made fretless bass. He is one of the pioneers of the Asian Underground scene with Outcaste Records, developing his groundbreaking electro-acoustic sound with Badmarsh&Shri. Since then he has collaborated with musicians like Bugge Wesseltoft, Gary Husband, Dennis Rollins, Arild Andersen, Ben Castle, Asaf Sirkis, Prathap Ramachandra, Kousic Sen and many more to perform concerts around the world.
Shri has composed and produced music for theatre, dance and feature films, his music has been placed on adverts like British Petroleum & Pantene Pro-V, TV shows like CSI & Top Gear amongst many others. He has featured live at Glastonbury Festival, Jools Holland, Montreux & London Jazz Festivals and has remixed tracks for Dela Soul, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Kronos Quartet & Asha Bhosle, to name a few.
He has also composed the promo tune for Ang Lee’s – Life of Pi and some of his collaborations include the BASCA British Composer Award 2016 winning cutting-edge brass band, Sitar, bass and Drums project, ‘Just A Vibration’, the score for Akademi's 'The Troth', Indian feature films, a Ralf Schmerberg movie, 'Indarella" and his latest album,'The Letter', for Jazzland records.
Currently Shri is working on a solo bass album after an acclaimed preview performance while also collaborating with Dennis Rollins on a duo project and a new album project with flautist Patrick Iversen & violinist Harpreet Bansal.
Shri commented: 'It's an absolute honour to be a keynote speaker at the BBE conference this year and I really hope to add my perspective to the equation.I love the sonic possibilities brass bands can bring to music, after my first hand experience of working with Hammonds Band on 'Just A Vibration' - cannot wait to push it further!
'Not initially knowing anything about brass bands or having been in one, the greatest realisation for me was the way they could sound super delicate, like a string section BUT then also have the other powerful end of the sonic spectrum. Coming from Drum & Bass, Indian classical, classic rock, Jazz and more, these qualities really appealed to me and I could see possibility after possibility. The key, for me, was to not compose for a brass band like a brass band - but like one of the genres/styles that I come from. This is what created 'Just A Vibration', which was just a start of this journey.'
Chairing an exclusive panel discussion focused on ‘Bringing Brass Banding to the National Stage’ is acclaimed composer Edward Gregson in addition to practical sessions, talks and discussion sessions delivered by AMP, Kinetika Bloco and more.
As part of the conference day, a presentation ceremony of this year’s Brass Bands England Awards will celebrate success within our sector. The shortlisted nominees have been announced; find out more about them on our website.
Attend in-person
Get the most out of the day by attending in-person to experience live speakers, attend your choice of breakout sessions, network with other delegates and visit the sponsor stands available on the day. If you can’t make it in person, selected follow-up resources will be available in the BBE Member Resources library.
Sarah Baumann, our Chief Operating Officer, said: "We are incredibly excited about this year’s conference, which offers our most diverse and vibrant selection of speakers thus far. After numerous requests from members, we are finally bringing the event to the South of England, but thanks to the central location it’s an accessible event for members to attend from across the country.”
About the Venue - China Exchange
China Exchange is a unique event space in Central London, in the heart of China Town. It’s a step-free access venue just minutes walk from Leicester Square and Piccadilly tube stations.
Sponsor and Exhibition Opportunities
For organisations wishing to take advantage of the sponsorship and exhibition opportunities available (including sponsorship of individual award categories, conference rooms and general on the day advertising) please visit the BBE Conference Sponsor webpage or contact our Chief Operating Officer Sarah Baumann on sarah@bbe.org.uk.
How do I book?
You can book your ticket for The Brass Band Conference 2024 on the Brass Bands England website.
Any questions can be directed to the Brass Bands England events team on conference@bbe.org.uk.