Barnsley Youth Choir has announced the appointment of a new trustee, Charlie Brammer, who will support the organisation with a remit on the NAVE development, but will also maintain a broader role across the organisation.
Charlie is well known within Barnsley, working in theEducation Sector throughout his career, most recently as Vice Principal ofHorizon Community College but formally as Director of Performing Arts in Kingstone Specialist School for Performing Arts, and prior to that as a high performing Head of Music. He has expertise in working in large scale projects, having worked with key stakeholders to help establish Horizon CC which was one of the largest capital investments in a school in Europe at the time.
As Director of Performing Arts at the Kingstone Specialist School,Charlie developed a wide range of exciting large-scale projects which enhanced the Performing Arts reputation of the school and the wider community. It was whilst working on one of these projects, the ‘Barnsley Celebration of Learning Event’, that Charlie met Mat Wright for the first time. Mat soon became the new Head of Music at Kingstone and it is here where the green shoots of a new choir first appeared, Barnsley Youth Choir. Having seen Mat’s choral work in the Celebration of Learning Events, Charlie was more than happy to support him in the early stages of his new project. He knew it would be a success. In his words, “Success? That’s an understatement!”. Charlie is happy to be back working with and supporting BYC once again and will provide strategic leadership in driving this exciting project forwards.
Charlie Brammer said:
“I really ‘get a buzz’ working on successful large scale music projects and this one is special to me having been around at the beginning. This is going to be a really exciting journey. I’m thrilled to be taking on this new role and working alongside Barnsley Council, other trustees and the team at BYC to realise this vision and provide the best possible opportunities for children in Barnsley.”
Mat Wright, Artistic Director said:
“We are so pleased to have Charlie working with us on this project. He has experience and expertise as a leader of real integrity, as an outstanding musician and teacher, and as someone who is able to deliver complex projects. Having had the honour of working with Charlie previously, I know that Barnsley Youth Choir is incredibly lucky to have him involved, and I’m grateful that he has made this commitment to support the organisation and its young people. He has an extraordinary pedigree, always putting young people and the local community at the heart of his work.
Charlie’s appointment provides the expertise and capacity to ensure that BYC continues to provide outstanding provision for children, whilst important work on the NAVE takes place. We are excited to welcome him to Barnsley Youth Choir in this formal capacity, and I have no doubts that his involvement will have a positive impact on the NAVE and be felt more broadly across BYC.”
Charlie joins a skilled team of trustees, wider leadership team and a 60 strong volunteer team that has been awarded the Queens Award forVoluntary Service (MBE) for its outstanding work. The choir now has in excess of 500 children involved in 9 different choirs across the Borough and has developed an international reputation for excellence.
