The competition, hosted by Ursula Jones, will take place at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester on 15-20 July 2019. The aim of PJIBEC is to bring together young brass quintets and to showcase excellence and enterprise in brass chamber music performance, building on the legacy of Philip Jones CBE (1928-2000). This will provide a platform for a new generation of brass players, who will benefit from the competition both from a distinguished international panel and through peer-learning.

Members of this year's international jury are Reinhold Friedrich (trumpet), Barbara Butler (trumpet), Frøydis Ree Wekre (horn), Ian Bousfield (trombone) and Oren Marshall (tuba).

This will be the first major competition of its kind held in the UK and it is hoped will stimulate interest and participation from outstanding young brass players across the world.

Three major prizes will be awarded - The Philip Jones Prize (£10,000), The Marah Mahlowe Prize (£7,500) and The Founder’s Prize (£5,000) - and several prominent music festivals and venues have expressed interest in the outcome of the competition.

The inaugural competition of 2019 will be for brass quintet (two trumpets, one horn, trombone, tuba) and will be eligible for players aged between 16 and 30. The average age of any group at 20 July 2019 should not be more than 28 years. The plan is to hold a brass ensemble competition every three years, each time for a different formation.

Applications for this competition are open from 1 July 2018 and close on 31 October 2018. It is anticipated that 16 groups will be chosen to come to Manchester. Selection will be from submitted video-recordings, based on the criteria of musical qualities, enterprise and presentation. These will be judged by former members of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble.

Full details of the competition are available on the website: http://www.pjbe.org

For Further information please contact Jayne Rollason, Project Manager jayne@classicmgt.org.uk +44 (0)7773 344131