Durham Brass Festival Paves the Way For New Generation of Players

Between 7th-16th July, Durham’s Brass Festival has been creating a new generation of brass players across the county, leading the way in reinventing the local tradition of brass bands.

Supported by Durham County Council and Arts Council England, It is estimated that over 1,500 children across Durham County held and blew a brass instrument, many for the first time, during the Brass Festival this year, all inspired by the lively and fun workshops that Hope and Social and Back Chat Brass brought to their schools.

The unmissable pink Brass Bus, stuffed with instruments, toured former mining areas where a tradition of colliery bands created a rich musical culture and in schools and at the Big Brass Bash evening open air concerts. This got hundreds of young people to not just watch but also give brass playing a go too. pBone came on board to support the venture with their colourful range of pTrombones, pTrumpets and pBuzzes.

Caroline Gray from Tudhoe Colliery Primary School told A4B: “We love the Brass Festival; it’s always a highlight of the year. The workshops were a fab addition and the kids left absolutely buzzing, wanting to do more!”

Andy Cox, from Back Chat Brass told A4B: “Music education is so important for all aspects of children’s developments. Playing music helps in brain development, improving social skills and, more importantly, is great fun! To have the opportunity to bring instruments to children to give them a chance to try them out is a great privilege for us. We had a lot of fun coming into schools all week. It truly is one of the best things about being part of BRASS. Hopefully we can be part of inspiring more children to take up playing music for the future as a career or just for fun!”

In the festival’s third year, the Big BrassS Bash has truly established itself, seeing big turn outs across the county, particularly in their return visits to Crook and Aycliffe. The culmination in Wharton Park on Saturday saw a musical fire finale to a night which brought some of the world’s best street bands together in a great evening of free entertainment attended by around 1,600 people.