Announcing the London Band Week All-American Collegiate Honour Band

"... marching band activity in the UK is one of the best kept secrets and underappreciated areas of the voluntary youth sector."

At the age of 7 years old I followed my friend to “band”. I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that my friend’s siblings already did band and now my friend wanted to do it too. Being very close, and doing everything else together, it seemed right that I should also want to go to band. My mother said that if I did not like it, I would not have to go again. As it turned out, my decision to join the marching band was one of the defining points of my life, and has, without doubt, helped to shape the person I am today.

In the band I spent so much of my time as a child learning to play various instruments, performing in processions, concerts, and competitions. It taught me how to overcome my nerves and allowed me the security of performing within a large group. I performed at prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Arena and even travelled abroad. I made friends with people from outside of my school year and from different schools which broadened my experiences and social opportunities. I also met my husband through the band and have since raised three children who are all young musicians.

As part of Burgess Hill Marching Youth, I spent time teaching other children to play tuned percussion, and it was this that led me into my career as a primary school teacher. The skills I have learnt at band are very much part of my day-to-day job. As the Music Lead at my current school, I am able to share some of the passion I have for music to the children I teach. School music education is somewhat lacking in the UK and has been for several years. I believe it is massively underfunded. The new National Plan for Music Education offers hope.

The voluntary marching band activity in the UK is one of the best kept secrets and underappreciated areas of the voluntary youth sector. Bands are formed as part of uniformed organisations or as independent youth marching bands. Some people say that there has been a decline of bands in the UK since the 1990s, and there is some truth in that. However, there is still an enormous network of volunteer led youth marching bands in our country.

I have been the Bandmaster of the Burgess Hill Marching Youth for the past 17 years and in that time I have seen the difference that being part of a marching band can make to a young person. Our bands offer much more than just music and marching. They offer comradeship, an extended family, and a support network for our young people. They offer performance and travel opportunities. They provide life skills such as self-discipline and time management. And, as if that wasn’t enough, our children and young people gain self-confidence, develop self-esteem and self-belief through working with other like-minded children, young people, and adults.

As the Chairman of the Traditional Youth Marching Bands Association, I have worked hard to help raise the profile of our activity. This work has never been as important as it has now, as bands are still recovering from Covid and the residual legacy of not being able to meet for so long. Bands are building themselves back up. They are recruiting more members. The leaders of bands strive to be performance ready so they can get back to doing what they do best.

What our activity needs is recognition and publicity. We need to shout about it from the rooftops because research has proven that music is not only important to our children, but also essential to their development, to their sense of self and well-being. In a world where mental health is so important, this is the time to raise the profile of an activity that can, and does, have a positive effect on thousands of young people week in, week out.