EBBA is delighted to announce the appointment of Elise Hale and Elisabeth Rogers as its new Content Creators.
The appointments form part of EBBA’s continued focus on strengthening its communication, storytelling and digital engagement across the European brass band community.
Both bring a strong combination of brass band experience and professional communication skills, with backgrounds spanning journalism, social media, marketing and performance.
Elise Hale
Elise Hale is best known within the brass band movement as the founder of Brassing Around, a journalism and social media platform that has quickly established itself as a recognised source of news, event coverage and stories from across the banding world.
Over the past three years, Elise has developed the platform significantly, leading to opportunities to provide backstage and event coverage at major contests including the National Finals, the British Open and Brass in Concert.
Her contribution to brass band media has already received national recognition. Her awards include BBC Young Reporter of the Year 2023, Brass Bands England Young Bandsperson of the Year 2023 and the British Bandsman “Looking to the Future” Award 2023, alongside a nomination for the 4barsrest Newcomer of the Year Award.
Alongside her media work, Elise has extensive experience as a performer. She began playing at the age of eight through the Cyprus Music Service before continuing her development with Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust.
As a member of Youth Brass 2000, she won three National Youth Brass Band Championships and performed at four European Youth Brass Band Championships. She has also represented the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain on Flugelhorn.
Elise is currently Repiano Cornet with Derwent Brass and is studying Flugelhorn on the Music Performance degree at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where she studies under Ian Porthouse with additional tuition from Richard Marshall.
She has performed as a soloist at venues including the Royal Albert Hall, The Glasshouse in Gateshead and Symphony Hall Birmingham.
Reflecting on her appointment, Elise said:
“I’m really looking forward to joining the EBBA team. The Europeans has been an important part of my banding career since I was 15, and it’s a privilege to now be involved with it.
It’s an incredible organisation with so much valuable history, and I’m looking forward to being part of its future.”
Elisabeth Rogers
Elisabeth Rogers is a marketing professional whose career in strategic and digital communications runs alongside a lifelong involvement in brass banding.
Born into a Welsh brass banding family, she started playing cornet at the age of seven and progressed through Ammanford Town Silver Band, becoming the band’s youngest-ever Principal Cornet at just 14 before moving into Championship Section banding at the age of 16.
Elisabeth also developed through Carmarthenshire Music Service and was a member of the National Youth Brass Band of Wales from the age of 12, serving as Principal Cornet on her final course in 2023.
That same year, she was selected for the European Youth Brass Band, performing during the European Brass Band Championships in Malmö and experiencing first-hand the international connections at the heart of EBBA.
Elisabeth holds a degree in Music Performance from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, where she studied cornet with Christopher Turner and Tom Hutchinson.
She is currently Assistant Principal Cornet with Ebbw Valley Brass and regularly performs with leading bands across the UK. She also joins Desford Colliery Band on its annual tours of South East Asia, with performances in Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.
Her experience in communications has developed alongside her playing career. Since 2019, she has supported the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain with social media coverage and has worked with a range of organisations across the brass band and wider arts sectors.
Following her Music degree, Elisabeth completed an MSc in Strategic and Digital Marketing with distinction and has since developed a freelance marketing career alongside her professional role as a Marketing Executive for an international education and data company.
Her work has included content creation, branding, social media, campaign development and event marketing, including work with organisations within the brass band sector such as Brass Band World.
She has also worked with the Arts Council of Wales, broadening her experience of how arts organisations can remain accessible, sustainable and relevant to modern audiences.
Reflecting on her appointment, Elisabeth said:
“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to bring my skills as a marketing professional to something that has shaped who I am for as long as I can remember, and to now expand that work to a European level. Brass banding has played such an integral part in my life, and I’m excited to contribute to its future in this role.”