Cory among Welsh bands on their way to national finals
THE Welsh Regional Brass Band Championships took place on March 19 and 20 and Wales will be sending the following bands to the the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain which will take place at the Centaur Hall at the Cheltenham Racecourse on September 17 and 18 for Sections 1 to 4 and at the Royal Albert Hall, London, for the Championship Section Bands.
The four bands representing Wales in the Championship Section are: Cory with Philip Harper conducting; Tredegar with Ian Porthouse conducting; Nortop with Daniel Brooks conducting and City of Cardiff M1 with Christopher Bond.
Cory, who regained their Welsh Champions title, are ranked as the best brass band in the world and they showed their worth by having a clean sweep of all the awards on offer.
The prize awarded for the Best Instrumentalist was won by Principal Euphonium player Glyn Williams, the prize for the Best Cornet player was won by Principal Cornet Tom Huthcinson and the prize for the Best Bass Section went to Kate James, Simon Howell, Tommy Tynan and Timmy Evans.
There was just one more award which completed their ‘clean sweep’ and that was the Lifetime Achievement Award awarded to Cory legendary Soprano Cornet player Gwyn Thomas for his lifetime commitment to banding.
The two bands from the First Section are Pontardulais (conductor Paul Jenkins) and Ebbw Valley Brass (conductor Gareth Ritter).
The Second Section bands are Beaumaris (conductor Barri Gwilliam) and Mid Rhondda (Thomas Coaches) (conductor Alan Gibbs).
The Third Section bands are
Cwmtawe (conductor Wayne Pedrick) and Crwbin (conductor Alex McGee).
The Fourth Section bands are Crosskeys Silver (conductor Sion Rhys) Jones and Rhyl Silver (conductor Jamie Duncan).