Brass music in danger: Who will be the next bandmaster?

Brass music in danger: Who will be the next bandmaster?

Brass music is becoming increasingly popular in Lower Austria, but a serious problem is emerging: there are fewer and fewer people who want to take on the position of bandmaster. The Lower Austrian Brass Music Association (NÖBV), one of the largest clubs in the country with an impressive 25,000 members, reports alarming figures: around 12,000 performances take place throughout the state every year, and yet the demand for new conductors is extremely low. Bernhard Thain, regional chairman of the NÖBV, expresses concern and explains that the requirement profiles for bandmasters are very extensive and time-consuming. The work often begins a year in advance to plan the repertoire and the venues.

Training in crisis

The tradition of brass music that has existed for many years could be at risk if new conductors are not trained quickly. “We need around 1,000 bandmasters, including representatives, for our 500 bands,” calculates Gerhard Formann, state bandmaster. New conductor training courses are also to be established at music schools from autumn onwards in order to increase the quality and quantity of training. So far, 30 interested people have already registered for conducting training in Zeillern Castle (Amstetten district). “We have to adapt the training and increase the number of trainees to 100 per year,” emphasizes Formann, in order to master the challenges of the future.

An example of the commitment in the field of brass music is the Tulbing brass band, which was founded in 1955 and has celebrated numerous successes since then. The band has earned an excellent reputation over decades, takes part in marching and concert competitions every year and has made important appearances and recordings for radio and television over the years. Just like the NÖBV, the Tulbing brass band also faces the challenge of attracting new talent and continuing the tradition in order to preserve the cultural treasure of brass music for future generations noebv.at is reported.