Next year’s National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain (Youth Champs), will take place at Stockport Grammar School, Greater Manchester, on Saturday 25 March.
Brass Bands England (BBE) is encouraging all youth brass bands across the UK to take part in competitive elements of the contest, whilst the Besson Prodige Showcase Section will be available for any band, regardless of its level of experience.
Format for Youth Champs 2023
As part of a commitment to keep the competition as accessible as possible, BBE has made a small number of changes to the usual event format.
- All Sections will take place on a single day and will be open to all performers who have not reached their 19th birthday on or before 31 August in the year of the contest.
- A new division, the Performance Section, will provide a first taste of competitive band contesting and will replace the former Elementary and Intermediate sections, both of which have seen reduced numbers in recent years as more bands have been drawn to the Championship Section. Bands in the Performance Section will perform an own-choice programme to include at least one original work for brass band.
- Recognising the need for bands to continue their recovery from the lost years of
pandemic recruitment and practise, there will be no set test-piece requirement in the Championship Section, giving bands the flexibility to choose music suitable for their own particular ensemble. - Following positive feedback on last year’s draw method trial that accounted for the
geographical location of bands, this will now become a permanent addition to the
contest rules.
There is also an opportunity for the winning band to go on to perform at the European Youth Brass Band Contest.
Find out more and apply to perform
Applications to take part in Youth Champs 2023 will open on Tuesday 20 September 2022 via the Brass Bands England website.
Ahead of the entry window, bands considering participating can download a Pre-Entry
Information Pack as well as access updated Aims and Rules. All documentation is now
available via the Youth Champs page on the Brass Bands England website.
Got questions? All those interested in the event are welcomed to a Youth Champs online
information session hosted by the BBE team on Tuesday 11 October 2022 between 6-7pm. Drop in at any time to ask your questions about the event.
