Elite standards at Band Cymru’s TV competition
FOUR bands battled it out in the final of the S4C Band Cymru competition at the Park & Dare Theatre in Treorchy.
The finalists were City of Cardiff (Melingriffith), Tredegar, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Brass Band and Beaumaris Brass.
Tredegar Town were the first to play and the atmosphere was full of suspense. Ian Porthouse had stated before the final that he had taken on board what the adjudicators had said about his band’s performance in an earlier round and had changed the music he had planned to play in the final.
Tredegar certainly rose to the occasion and gave a very technical and most lyrical performance which left the audience in awe.
After such terrific playing, the next band on stage knew they would need to pull out all the stops if they were to top that performance.
The Brass Band of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama looked relaxed and confident as they took to their seats.
With the first few bars of their first piece of music, they had grasped the attention of the audience.
These young students had a quality of sound that placed them among the UK’s elite brass bands.
I was captivated by their programme, which showed all the different aspects required of a top band.
The band, under the guidance of Dr Robert Childs, played extremely well and really entertained the audience.
The next band were Beaumaris Brass, who were a combination of brass and “big band” instruments. Their programme showed the excellent technique of the band, particularly the two flugel players, the maturity of the young trombone player and the dexterity of the flute player.
This performance exhibited a breadth of dynamics from controlled loudness to very quiet playing. They certainly engaged the crowd and I thought they were a real breath of fresh air.
Readers may be wondering how Tredegar Band got to the final, having been beaten in the earlier round. It had been decided that the final would consist of the best four bands of the 12 who had made the semi-finals, so in theory all three bands from one of the earlier programmes could have got to the final if the adjudicators had deemed that they were among the best four in the contest.
Well, could City of Cardiff (Melingriffith), the last band to take the stage, repeat their winning semifinal performance and win that £10,000 prize?
They excelled to give themselves more than an even chance of winning that coveted prize. Nigel Seaman led them through a very varied programme with a panache born of experienced professionalism. He obtained all the required nuances and surmounted the very technical difficulties that the music required.
The judges arrived after their deliberations and one of them, Dr Graham Jones, after praising the standard of music being produced by Welsh bands, announced the winner as Tredegar Town Band.
There was also a prize for the best soloist of the competition, won by tenor horn soloist Lowenna Taylor, of City of Cardiff (Melingriffith). She was awarded that distinction after playing Somewhere Over The Rainbow in the earlier programme.
For the first time Band Cymru organised a contest for under-18 groups with £1,000 prize for the winner. The four finalists at Park & Dare Theatre were Greater Gwent Youth Band, Band Jazz Tryfan, Gwent Youth Wind Orchestra and Cardiff and Vale Music Service Youth Jazz Orchestra. All four bands played at a standard beyond their years and the outstanding winners were Greater Gwent Youth Band, conducted by Gareth Ritter.