Brass band notes
Best in world battle it out at championships
LAST Sunday, a dozen of the most outstanding brass bands in the world faced each other in what is probably the most demanding entertainment contest ever in which to be successful – The Brass in Concert Championship held at Sage, Gateshead.
The most successful band over the years at this contest is Grimethorpe Colliery, but the champion band going into the contest on Sunday was Cory. Could they repeat their success of the previous two years?
On the previous Saturday evening, Cory Band had given a very successful concert along with Only Men Aloud after having had a day of workshops with more than 100 young players who were tutored by Philip Harper and the Cory players.
The draw for the order of play at the contest was: 1. Flowers 2. Paris Brass Band 3. Carlton Main Frickly Colliery 4. Virtuosi GUS 5. Fountain City 6. Eikanger-Bjorksvik Musikklag 7. Cory 8. Brighouse & Rastrick 9. Grimethorpe 10. Leyland 11. Foden’s 12. Tredegar.
After a great day of superb playing by 12 of the best brass bands in the world the six judges, who were responsible for particular aspects of each band’s programme, decided that the 2017 Champion of the Brass in Concert Championships were the Champion Band of Norway, Eikanger-Bjorksvik Musikklag conducted by Reid Gilje.
Second were Fountain City, the Champions of USA, and third were Foden’s band conducted by South Walian Dr Robert Childs.
Last year’s champion, Cory, was fourth and fifth were Tredegar. Sixth was the champions of France, Paris Brass Band.
In seventh place was Brighouse & Rastrick, the Champions of Great Britain. In eighth place were Carlton Main Frickly Colliery. Nineth were Virtuosi GUS, 10th were Grimethorpe Colliery, 11th Flowers, conducted by Welsh Euphonium virtuosi David Childs and 12th was Leyland band.
Tredegar Band won the Audience Prize of £1,000. This was a vote by the audience using their phones. In addition to this Tredegar won the prize for the best baritone player Ben Stratford.
Cory also gained the prize for the best bass section, the best Euphonium player Glyn Williams and the best Flugel Horn player Helen Williams.
Both Cory and Tredegar presented great programmes with Cory using the Beatles Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in their theme and Tredegar using the theme Breaking The Boundaries continued doing so by using two students from the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, Hayley Walker, 19, and Scott Knight, 20, as dancers in their contest programme.
It certainly helped the band to win the audience vote.
This Saturday, November 25, the final “shoot out” to find the champion brass band of each of the five sections of the Welsh League takes place at Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Village at 10am.
Entries in order of favourites for the title:
Section 4 – Oakdale, Gwaun Cae Gurwen.
Section 3 – Upper Rhondda, Cwmtawe Youth, Usk, Ynyshir,
Section 2 – Mid Rhondda, Newport, Crwbin, Raf St Athan,
Penclawdd, Melingriffith, Crosskeys.
Section 1 – Abergavenny , Lewis Merthyr, Ammanford,
Championship – Llwydcoed, Tylorstown, Ebbw Valley, Pontardulais, Goodwick, Markham, City Cardiff, Burry Port, Tongwynlais.