Many Banding Events Cancelled
The ongoing escalation of the Coronavirus pandemic has led to the cancellation of several events within the global brass band calendar including, but not limited to the following:
Australian National Championships
European Brass Band Championships
The Irish Association of Brass Bands and Concert Bands National Championships
London & Southern Counties Regional Championships
National Youth Championships
Southern Counties Youth Band (SCYB) Easter Residential Course
SCABA Solo, Quartet & Ensemble contest
Statements from the respective organisers of these events can be found below:
· The following statement was released by Barrie Gott, the President of the National Band Council of Australia (NBCA) regarding the cancellation of the National Brass Band Championships: "Discussions were held with the National Band Council and the Western Australian organising committee today following the announcement of a pandemic. It is with regret that the National Contest to be held in Perth at Easter will not proceed. We are well aware of the amount of preparation that has been made by the organising committee and individual bands. However, circumstances and concerns by various stakeholders have made us come to this decision. This decision was not made lightly but was in the end forced upon us.”
The organisers have prepared a brief Q&A reference, available via their website at: https://www.nationalbandchampionships.com.au/qa.html
· The European Brass Band Association (EBBA) and the local organisers in Palanga have announced that the 2020 European Brass Band Championships, including all connected events scheduled to be held in Palanga, Lithuania, in April-May, will be cancelled due to the current Coronavirus pandemic. EBBA President Ulf Rosenberg stated: "We are very sorry to have to announce that, in light of the World Health Organisation's definition of COVID-19 as a pandemic and the growing restrictions being imposed by national governments and other agencies, the European Championships cannot go ahead in Lithuania this year as planned.
“Our first priority is the health and safety of both the brass band and wider communities and this has been the overriding factor in making this very painful decision. We have enormous sympathy for the local organisers and city officials in Palanga, who have worked tirelessly over recent years to present the European Brass Band Championships in Baltic region for the first time. They have shown themselves to be a very impressive team in preparing what would undoubtedly have been a memorable and high-quality event. We also appreciate that participating players and bands have made huge sacrifices in their preparations and could face financial implications due to the cancellation of the event.
“Audience members will face similar issues in addition to their natural disappointment in missing out on a great event and we are very sorry that they will all be affected by this decision, but with such widespread restrictions on public gatherings and travel, presenting the world's most prestigious brass band competition as scheduled has simply become impossible.
"We would like to thank everyone involved, including local organisers, bands, players, conductors, administrators, members of the European Youth Brass Band, composers, traders, media and others facilitating and contributing to the event, for their high level of co-operation and understanding of this very serious situation.
“EBBA will continue to prepare the 2021 event in Malmö (Sweden) and liaise with the planned cities, Innsbruck (Austria), Stavanger (Norway) and Gateshead (England) over details of future events and will make further announcements regarding the current situation in due course. We will also continue to work with our friends in Palanga to bring the EBBC in Lithuania, as we are still strongly in favour presenting the EBBC in the Baltic".
It was confirmed that ticket buyers for the 2020 event in Palanga will be refunded.
· Irish Association of Brass Bands and Concert Bands National Championships (IABCB) Competition Secretary, Kevin Teers stated, "In light of government announcements on Thursday 12th March regarding COVID-19, the IABCB Executive Committee have taken the decision to postpone the 2020 IABCB National Band Championships. The announcements will affect the rehearsal capabilities of many bands in the coming weeks, and the safety and well-being of all participants, supporters and volunteers at the event is of paramount importance. It is our intention to reschedule the event to take place on a weekend in October/November in the same venue, and we are currently working on plans to do so. Details of the rescheduled event will be announced in the next few weeks. We would like to thank our venue, Dean Crowe Theatre, and our adjudicator, Sandy Smith, for their understanding and co-operation in light of these developments."
· It has been announced that the London & Southern Counties Regional Championships have been cancelled. Regional Secretary Kevin Williams outlined the reasons for the decision: "Following ongoing discussion and debate amongst the Regional Committee ever since the Coronavirus outbreak first appeared we have desperately been trying to find a way of allowing the contest to go ahead as planned.
“Even though the Stevenage Arts & Leisure Centre are currently still operating normally we have come to the decision that our duty of care in ensuring your health and safety cannot be guaranteed, and so we have taken the devastating decision to cancel this year's event.
“The Committee are desperately sad to have had to take this course of action but trust you understand our reasons for doing so. Over the coming days we will be firming up how we manage the grading tables and advancement of bands to the National Finals and will not make any further comment until they have been finalised. I would like to thank my Committee and Chairman for their advice and enduring support through what has been an incredibly stressful time for us all."
· Brass Bands England (BBE) has announced the cancellation of the 2020 National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain due to the ongoing effect of the Coronavirus pandemic. BBE Chief Executive Officer, Kenny Crookston stated: "The situation regarding the Coronavirus pandemic has become extremely worrying for all of us, and in the interests of everyone's health and safety, the 2020 Youth Champs must be cancelled.
“This is obviously very bad news for the 1,300 young musicians, their teachers, conductors, family members and supporters who have spent many hours preparing for the event in recent months, and we would like to assure them that we have taken this decision with their best interests at heart.
"We have looked in detail at rescheduling the event, but with great uncertainty over the expected spread of the virus and the timescale involved, impending school exams and an already packed banding calendar, such an undertaking appears impossible.
“We will also be postponing our development and training events scheduled over the next four weeks (Artistic Development with Philip Harper in Lancaster on 23rd March and BandSafe in Denmead on 5th April), our next board meeting will be held online and BBE staff are now being encouraged to work from home to minimise the possibility of spreading the virus.
"I would like to thank everyone who has dedicated their time and resources to making what we are sure would have been a wonderful event. This includes our outstanding team of staff and trustees at BBE, all of whom are devastated that this year's event cannot take place."
· The Southern Counties Youth Band (SCYB) Easter Residential Course as well as the scaba Solo, Quartet & Ensemble contest have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. scaba Secretary Alex Sears stated: "After careful consideration of our duty of care to participants and volunteers, and consultation with local council and other advisors, scaba has made the difficult decision to cancel both the Southern Counties Youth Band (SCYB) Easter Residential course and the Solo, Quartet and Ensemble competition due to take place in April.
“In light of increasing concerns about, and spread of, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) virus, we felt this was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented global situation. We are very disappointed that we are unable to hold these events for the young players and community bandsmen and women in our area, but I am confident that we have made the right decision based on the available information at this time. Plans will be made to reschedule both the Youth Band course and the competition later in the year, once the situation becomes more stable."
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