Inaugural GATEWAY British Brass Band Festival

About this event

The St. Louis Brass Band presents the inaugural Gateway British Brass Band Festival on November 1-2, 2019, at Ritenour High School Auditorium, St.Louis, Missouri.

This own choice contest has drawn eight participating bands from across the Midwest and Mid-South making it one of the largest brass band events in the region this year. Dr. John Bell, Music Director of the St. Louis Brass Band said, “This event is the culmination of an entire year of planning. We are excited to partner with NABBA to bring this new event to the brass band world and hope to build it so that in future years we attract bands from across the United States.”

Participants: Arkansas Musicworks Brass Band (Bentonville, Arkansas); Chicago Brass Band (Chicago, Illinois); Dublin Silver Brass Band (Columbus, Ohio); East Central University Brass (Ada, Oklahoma); Eastern Iowa Brass Band (Mt. Vernon, Iowa); Ft. Zumwalt High School Brass (St. Peters, Missouri); St. Louis Brass Band (St. Louis, Missouri); St. Louis Youth Brass Band (St. Louis, Missouri)

A special feature of the festival is that it will present masterclasses and clinics on Friday evening, including a session presented by Tony Granados and Dr. John Bell on the revised NABBA judging system. This new system will be first utilized at the Gateway Festival. NABBA President, Tony Granados stated, “NABBA is really excited to welcome and support the new Gateway Brass Band Festival. With the development of a new scoring approach it will be really fascinating to see how the bands like it.”

In addition, the St. Louis Brass Band under Dr. Bell’s direction, will perform a concert Friday evening at 8 pm featuring Mr. Granados as guest conductor and Professor J.D. Shaw as solo French horn. Professor Shaw’s appearance is courtesy of Conn-Selmer.

Visit our website www.stlbb.org for more information about the festival.