New UK marching music magazine
With a lot of help from member organisations and from bands, The British Federation of Youth Marching Band Organisations has just published an impressive 20 page full colour magazine. The magazine has features by international percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and Cultural Olympiad Supremo Bill Morris. It is packed with pictures of bands from all areas of the activity.
There is news from bands such as Kidsgrove Scouts who celebrate their centenary this year, and from Cadence about their full day school workshop. BYBA's Colchester contest gets a mention for raising £40,000 for children's charities, and from Northern Ireland news about using their strong marching tradition in a five year peace building strategy.
There are features on 'Good Gigs' performed by bands, on New Bands, and on the international scene - Marching Bands Europe, Drum Corps Europe, the proposed United Nations Marching Band and the South African Field Band Foundation. Winterguard and Indoor Percussion circuits are featured, along with an article by Trevor Haworth on academic research that helps prove the value of our activity.
Trinity School Show Band and Kinetika Bloco each get a page to describe their unique place in the marching arts activity with the aim of inspiring similar groups. The magazine also includes a summary of the whole activity's 2008 national survey, and its four year development strategy 'Marching 2012: More kids in more bands, bigger and better for 2012"
The intention of the magazine is that bands purchase extra copies at a big discount, include a local flyer, and then distribute to local libraries, schools, leisure centres, medical surgeries - in fact anywhere that parents and young people gather. Magazine editor Jim Vaughan adds "For this visual resource to succeed it must help to make a difference where it matters - in local bands in local communities. It won't work without the support of band leaders."
More information can be found at www.marchingbands.org.uk.
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