Posted: 24/10/22
We are thrilled to receive the Brass Bands England’s Innovation Award 2022!
Innovation, pushing boundaries and entertaining audiences is what we are all about at Derwent Brass. Does it always make us winners at traditional contests? No, it doesn’t. Does it crack the mould, leave audiences smiling, spark conversations and challenge people? Yes, it does!
We’ve consistently promised to deliver on our concerts with equal value as contests because they are our true window to real world audiences, followers, and listeners. Contests are hugely important, but so is entertaining an audience - especially enticing a typically non-brass band audience - if we want to secure the future of the movement. Afterall, we perform because the public want to enjoy seeing and hearing what we have to offer.
That does not mean turning our back on tradition - indeed we will often programme such material - but it is equally important that we innovate, to push forward, widen our reach and leave people excited about what could be next. Repertoire is one of the main factors behind engagement and we are delighted to have realised projects with Paul McGhee and Matthew Eden, third parties such as Derby University, Derby Theatre and British Sea Power, a myriad of young composers and some writers more familiar within the brass band idiom. More recently of course our Music Director Jack Capstaff has been the artistic force behind both the baton and the pen, producing several new works which continue the legacy from Keith Leonard’s era of thinking outside the box. Indeed, it was this reputation that attracted Jack to the band in the first instance and this reputation which continues to grow amidst a thriving partnership.
We enjoyed a wonderful opening keynote by Ian Bousfield at the BBE Conference who rightly acknowledged the efforts of the Foden’s Band in their outreach and that of the Tredegar Band whose work with Gavin Higgins has been a shining example of how quality new material can reach a new audience and widen the brass band scope. We are already looking ahead to the projects we have planned in 2023 and beyond with excitement, determination, and grit to keep pushing, challenging, and entertaining – with enough of us doing it, change will hopefully come.
Congratulations to all the other category winners and thank you to Brass Bands England for not only recognising and rewarding innovation, but also making it the topic of your 2023 conference – this is fantastic to see.
