BBE was represented at a recent Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, celebrating the contribution to the nation of the cultural arts sector.
BBE Chairman, Mike Kilroy, and Chief Executive Officer, Kenny Crookston, were among the invited guests enjoying a day of music and sunshine in the presence of HM King Charles III and Queen Camilla, with Mike even being among those to meet and chat briefly with The King himself!
Mike meeting the King
Mike commented: “It was a great privilege for Kenny and myself to be invited to represent brass banding at the recent Royal Garden Party along with 4,000 people from the arts sector, many of them very well known indeed. It was clearly a very special occasion and it was a fantastic honour to be able to meet His Majesty The King, who was very complimentary about the fantastic work of all of those present and even cracked a joke or two about being in the presence of a Yorkshireman!"
Mike added: “Being able to meet with the representatives of other Arts Council England supported organisations that we have come into contact with in recent years, sharing ideas and experiences, is also an important aspect of occasions such as this. BBE has come a long way over the past decade and to be recognised like this among the nation’s leading arts organisations is something of which banding should be very proud.”
Brass Bands England has further plans to champion brass banding over the summer period with the first ever national Brass Band Week and another #PromsInThePlayground campaign. All bands are invited to take part.