Our Event

ConsTest is an open own choice brass band competition held at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, that boasts a modern take on brass banding. Using the brilliant Bradshaw Hall, bands have previously competed for numerous prizes, including Denis Wick, Geneva, Mercer & Barker and Alliance products, and the chance to work with virtuosos such as Richard Marshall. With an inaugural event taking place in 2023, featuring Ian Porthouse and Alan Morrison as adjudicators, ConsTest now looks towards the future, continuing to work with an appropriate registration system facing the player crisis head on and a desire to provide a day of endless musical indulgence for all involved - just one example of the modernistic takes on banding that ConsTest has.

Birmingham held a place of great significance in the brass band calendar of 2022, with the British Open returning to Symphony Hall once more in September, and the European Brass Band Competition featuring at the same venue just months earlier in May. These events both created an incredible buzz, with the music making inspiring and captivating the community. ConsTest aims to take inspiration from these events, and share this atmosphere with bands of all levels. Each band should feel relaxed, comfortable and important throughout the whole contest day - not just on stage. This is something we strive to achieve.

The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is just one of few Higher Education establishments that offers a Brass Band First Study course in England, and with this comes a busy and vibrant environment - one that perfectly complements a brass band competition. The space not only provides a concert hall of great quality, but soundproof warm up rooms guarantee complete comfort for bands before taking to the contest stage - something not all bands of lower sections have the pleasure of experiencing frequently. We look forward to welcoming bands to the Conservatoire to experience the incredible atmosphere, performance opportunities in front of new crowds and the all important chance to win prizes.

The fundamentals of our event include: An own choice test piece selection, entry for all sections (capped at 4 bands per section), open adjudication, pre-drawn performance times and a registry system that requires a minimum of 20 players to be signed with the band. For more information, please see our information page.