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 ReadingNigel Birch
It is with extremely heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Lions Youth Brass Musical Director, Nigel Birch. No words could ever do justice to the amount of hours and hard work that Nigel put into our organisation. Nigel was our Musical Director for 35 years. He loved each young person that came through Lions as an individual and only ever wanted to see them shine. He enjoyed all concerts and competitions, but he absolutely loved going on tour, socialising with the players and getting to know them better. He cherished every moment spent with the committee, who he was very proud to call his friends. We send our… Read More
Continue ReadingWe 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 ReadingNational 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#CountdownToSwitzerland
We’re off to Switzerland! 1 day to go! 2 days to go! 3 days to go! 4 days to go! 5 days to go! 6 days to go! 7 days to go! 8 days to go! 9 days to go! 10 days to go! 11 days to go! 12 days to go! 13 days to go! 14 days to go! 15 days to go! 16 days to go! 17 days to go! 18 days to go! 19 days to go! 20 days to go! 21 days to go! 22 days to go! 23 days to go! 24 days to go! 25 days to go! 26 days to go! 27 days… Read More
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Photos for sale
As part of the band’s fundraising efforts for Switzerland, a large number of photos from recent concerts are available for sale. Photos are priced at £1 for a high resolution digital download and the band will get 66p from each photo purchased. 3 July 2018 All 3 bands Remembering Nell / Awards Concert – https://goo.gl/amc6BA 7 July 2018 Junior Band Whiston Contest – https://goo.gl/9xyu9n 8 July 2018 All 3 bands Congleton Park – https://goo.gl/1qsYKc 8 July 2018 All 3 bands Macclesfield Lions – https://goo.gl/2Hww9e
Continue ReadingNational Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain
The annual National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain was a roaring success for the young Lions as the Youth Band secured second place. The success didn’t stop there as the Beginner Band were awarded a certificate of merit and the Junior Band a silver award – a top result in a category containing 12 bands! It was all change for the competition this year as the venue moved to Warwick Arts Centre in order to avoid a clash with the East holidays. Brass Bands England chairman Mike Kilroy told audiences the competition could well stay put next year as well. Junior Section A section containing 12 bands… Read More
Continue ReadingTour 2017: Day Seven
We were up early for breakfast this morning as we had to pack up all our stuff and clean the accomodation. With the help of everyone in the band, Ty Clwyd was looking spotless in no time! We set off for our perfromance in Oswestry at around 10am. Following a lovely buffet lunch, the band performed to a small audience, lets be honest, it’s all about the quality and not the quantity. At the end of a tiring week, the band did well to maintain their focus and produced yet another solid perfromance. Their were a number of excellent solo contributions by Isabel, Rhys, Suzanna and Callum. After the concert,… Read More
Continue ReadingTour 2017: Day Five
This morning, the band was rudely awakened by the morning chorus – no, it’s not the sound of the birds; more the din of the pan lids Brian hit to great effect. The bands destination today, was the picturesque setting of Llandudno, and the band was treated to the luxury of two hours free time! The band split into groups and enjoyed this time in many ways including hillside tobogganing, retail therapy and skimming stones on the beach. The band performed on the bandstand on the promenade, to a very supportive and enthusiastic crowd including, ex-band members, friends and even their music teacher! The band was treated to a BBQ extravaganza… Read More
Continue ReadingTour 2017: Day Four
Today, we all enjoyed our much deserved lie in, without being woken! We stumbled upon a shed full of surprises including Connect Four, hoola hoops and multiple balls and Frisbees for us to play with. Everyone got stuck in with games in the sun! More memes were blasted on the way to Caernarfon Castle (which was abs stunning). During our break of half an hour we explored the castle, walked into secret glass doors and found dead ends – of which there were many. After our concert in the sunshine, we had the choice of many different flavours of fabulous ice-cream! The fave being New York Cheesecake flavour! We arrived home for our tasty gammon… Read More
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