The UniBrass Foundation is delighted to announce the inaugural Artist in Association project, funded by Arts Council England. This exciting new project pairs 3 university brass bands with a professional soloist or conductor to support expanded artistic exploration and reach new audiences.
The Artist in Association project will see Bristol, Durham and York university brass bands work with high-quality solo artists and conductors, enabling them to work together for a dedicated period of time to develop and rehearse new, creative performance ideas. The project will also involve performances from community and youth bands, local to each university, helping to integrate the university brass bands within their local community music-making, developing new professional networks and helping all three bands reach new audiences from within both the university and their local communities.
The dynamic groups taking part in the first year of this exciting new initiative are the University of Bristol Brass Band who will be working with the musical director of Tredegar Band and Director of Brass Band Studies at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Ian Porthouse, Durham University Brass Band who will be joined by Stephanie Binns, flugelhorn player of Black Dyke Band, and the University of York Brass Band who have been paired with Ryan Watkins, conductor of Hepworth Brass Band.
Each university band will host a one-off performance in June 2022, joined by their guest artist and the community and youth bands they have been working with. Please see the UniBrass Foundation website for more information as the concerts are announced later in May.
Thomas Hicken, Chair of UniBrass Foundation said, “It’s really great to see university bands focusing on their musical and community development throughout the year, not just around the UniBrass contest in February. We are thrilled to be able to support bands, as well as give opportunities to local professional musicians, and hope this can be the start of a long series of projects to improve access to music at such a crucial time in young people’s development.”
Stephanie Binns, of the Black Dyke Band said, "I am thrilled to be part of this exciting inaugural scheme working alongside the musicians of the Durham Uni Band. Having already been to one of their rehearsals, I know this is going to be a fantastic event for all involved."
Follow UniBrass Foundation on social media (@UniBrass) for project updates and performance announcements.