National Championships Success!

On Saturday 23rd March Lions Youth Brass took their three bands (71 young people) to Dean Close School in Cheltenham for The National Youth Brass Band Championships 2024, organised by Brass Bands England! Lions Youth Brass were the only organisation to enter a band into every section. Lions Debut Band Lions Debut Band, the starting point of Lions Youth Brass, entered the Besson Prodige Section. “The Besson Prodige Showcase Section is the Youth Champs’ non-competitive section, offering an opportunity to take part and contribute a great performance without the pressure of competition.” The young players were delighted to walk away with a certificate of Merit and a special mention for… Read More

Continue Reading

New Musical Director for Lions Academy Band

We are very pleased to announce that we have appointed Peter McDonough as Musical Director of our Academy Band. Peter graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with Distinction in Euphonium Performance in 2019. Since then he has taught at many schools and ensembles including Weaverham High School, Chetham’s School of Music and St Helen’s Youth Brass Band. Peter is currently Principal Euphonium with WFEL Fairey Band and was recently awarded the prize for Best Euphonium at The British Open Brass Band Championships earlier this month. We are very excited to see what’s in store for our Academy Band!

Continue Reading

Musical Youth 2022!

We had an absolutely brilliant day yesterday as we performed at the very first Musical Youth Event! Lions Youth Brass played alongside other fantastic musicians from Macclesfield Youth Band, Stockport Schools Brass Band, and the Junior and Senior Jazz Orchestras from Music for Life. It was such a pleasure to sit back and listen to other music groups whilst soaking up the sun and indulging in the delicious crepes! After all the music groups had performed we all came together for the Grand Finale! This was a real treat and a great way to showcase just how brilliant young musicians are. A big thank you to Tony Wyatt and his… Read More

Continue Reading

Lions Return to Congleton Park!

After three long years, we were absolutely thrilled to return to Congleton Bandstand for the the first time since July 2019! The afternoon featured all three of our bands, Debut, Academy & Youth and all sections treated us to a fun, summery programme. Special shout out goes to Jakob who performed his first solo with the band! This is always such a lovely event and this year definitely didn’t disappoint as we looked out from the bandstand and saw a huge crowd with their picnics, family, friends and our four legged fans. We are so grateful to Congleton Lions Club for supporting us for the last 33 years, without this… Read More

Continue Reading

New Storage Container for Lions Youth Brass!

We are so excited to finally have our own storage container! A huge thank you to Tony at Cooke Containers Ltd and caretaker Gary for having the patience of a Saint! A massive thank you to Ewan at Acceler8 Clinical Research for helping us fund a brand new storage container for the band, without you this wouldn’t have been possible. We’re really looking forward to a joint concert with Acceler8 Band in the new academic year! Acceler8 Clinical Research is a global provider of biopharmaceutical services. They conduct clinical trials on behalf of our pharmaceutical clients to get their products to market efficiently and cost-effectively. With offices in Singapore, Australia,… Read More

Continue Reading

We Stand with Ukraine

Today, Youth band parent, Rob is travelling to Poland to drop off donations to refugees who have had to flee from Ukraine. Thank you to all our players, parents, committee members and supporters who donated towards this very worthy cause. Here is a video of all three of our bands performing the Ukraine National Anthem

Continue Reading

National Youth Championships 2022!

What a weekend…! Lions Academy Band First to play was our Academy Band in the Elementary section on Saturday morning.Programme:1. The Muppet Show 2. Londonderry Air – Soloist, Charlie Kearon 3. The Saddleworth Suite – Pots ‘n’ Pans, Grasscroft Ghoul & Friezland Fiesta 4. Abide With Me 4 Bars Rest said “Lions certainly had a gold hallmark about their set under conductor Tom Hancock, as they opened in a long line with the ‘Muppets Theme’ (with brilliant car horn soloist), before segueing skilfully into the euphonium solo ‘Londonderry Air’ played wonderful by ‘Best Soloist’ winner Charlie Kearon. Their original brass band work, Dave Chapman’s ‘A Saddleworth Suite’, featured great percussion… Read More

Continue Reading