2008 Australian Band Championships

Retrospective: A Grade

Those expecting an historic, closely fought battle were not disappointed.

The competition in the A Grade section was extremely close, only 8 points out of a possible 500 separating the top four bands.

Controversy - there was plenty of that too.

Many of us were surprised with some of the marks given - especially the results for the hymn, which we thought would have seen more bands in front of Gunnedah, and Excelsior further up the ladder, and not the other way around. It became apparent later, that Adjudicator, Stephen Roberts, felt that there were balance issues with XLCR during the hymn, in that there was too much bass in His Provision.  Dr Roberts made comment as to whether this may have been to the hall acoustic? We may never really know for sure.

Another very subjective criteria which Stephen Roberts placed importance on was the music bands chose for the Own Choice. Extreme Makeover being the ultimate example, with Dr Roberts considering it to be quite one dimensional with little opportunity for the band to perform to its greatest potential. Although Dalewool didn't play its best in Extreme Makeover, to be 15 points behind first placed band, Waratah, left many somewhat baffled.

The acoustic of the City Hall is still a variable to cause issue and discussion.  There was much talk at the conclusion of the events about the Auditorium and its reputation for giving its audiences a variety of experiences, dependent on where they are sitting.  The conversations that 4BR had with other members of the audience, and the occasionally conflicting observations that they had about some of the performances of the bands, only seemed to confirm this.

Even from our viewpoint, we recall one particular section of a band's performance where the baritones of the band appeared to be projecting right over the top of the band. It was obvious that this was more of a result of the acoustics, and even though this sounded out of balance from our viewpoint, it was obvious that our location in the hall was the only place that experienced this 'imbalance', and that it would have sounded fine in any other part of the hall. Some other moments, however, were more obviously out of balance, and not a victim of City Hall's unusual acoustics.  For those interested, 4BR were sat up in the balcony - almost sitting on top of the adjudicator.

Some players even found the acoustic amusing - gauging how loud they were playing by whether or not their parts echoed back to them.

Still, the positioning of the adjudicator was the same for each band, which is some consolation at least.

Interestingly enough, extracting the Hymn and Stage March scores from the aggregate did not change the placing of the first 5 bands.

Although 4BR didn't quite get the order of the final five right, we were in agreement with Dr Roberts on which bands should have been there.

There was some frustration amongst the bands when the start of the A Grade test was delayed for over half and hour.  Unfortunately, the communication channels between contest organisers and the A Grade bands weren't functioning too well and several bands were left waiting in corriders and hotel lobbies for an excessive amount of time due to this issue. 

4BRDU were happy to introduce new-comers themusicpage.com who provided live streaming for the A Grade events.  This site is now uploading the video files for public viewing.

The presentation ceremony left many wanting more.  It seemed that winning an historic 4 National titles in a row was nothing really very special at all, when no mention was made of this record, nor was the winning band given an opportunity to respond.  At the conclusion of the Champion of Champions the following evening, contest organisers did apologise for this mix up and confusion which occured during the A Grade presentation.

So...how did the bands end up?

1. Brisbane Excelsior, Howard Taylor

Maintaining the Championship title now for four years running, Excelsior have gone into the record books for being the first band in the history of the Australian Nationals to win four competitions back to back.  Unlike the previous year, many of us felt that they had, "left the door open", with their performance of the Own Choice, Montage, this time around.  A near perfect score for the Stage March, Knight Templar did honestly have us scratching our heads as well. But, a win in the stage march, second in both test selections, and a disappointing tenth in the hymn tune due to apparent over balance of bass, was still enough to secure the record breaking win for XLCR.

The soloists, in particular Paula Russell and Ashley Gittins, were sensational on both days.

Can they make it five?

Steve Stewart contemplates Montage
 
2. Gunnedah, Jason Katsikaris

This was a super result for this band's first foray into the A grade of the Australian Nationals.  Although many felt that they were well off the mark with their Saturday performances achieving a 7th in the hymn tune and fourth in the test. They certainly made up for it on Sunday evening with the bands performance of Harmony Music which came a very close third and was awarded 196.  Many would not have been surprised if they had won this event. The stage march, Mercury was well rewarded with 48 points giving the band second place in this event.

It shall be interesting to see whether or nor Jason Katsikaris will be available to conduct them in their future competitions.

One thing for sure, Jason Katsikaris has become one of the worlds leading conductors.  With little more than a week to work with the band the standard achieved was simply amazing. Master trainer, Bryan Hurdley, along with Ken Bradley and Laurie Rowe each had enormous influence on the quality of this band, as well.

Gunnedah cornet section

3. Waratah, Matthew van Emmerik

We hadn't seen Waratah at the nationals before with its new MD, Matthew van Emmerik, and this was certainly an improvement on their fifth placing at the 2006 nationals.  The bands 1st place with Music of the Spheres in the Own Choice, was a bit of surprise to us - we had them in fourth. The band received a credible 3rd in the Hymn tune, tenth in the Test, and 4th in the Stage March.

It will be interesting to see how they develop over the next year, and look forward to hearing the band at the Australasian Open later in the year.

4. Many of us were suprised by Dalewool's final placing, expecting them to have been in the final top three - and perhaps with their nose just in front of XLCR. Some may say they were unlucky and fell victim to a subjective personal adjudicating criteria.

There is no doubting the ability of Nigel Weeks to draw out the most musical moments of any piece the band plays.  However, it would seem the band paid a huge price by choosing to play Extreme Makeover as its Own Choice.

A first in the test, by a huge margin of 5 points from XLCR in second place, and hymn tune had everyone expecting this band to take home the helmet, but a disatrous 8th in the Own Choice was enough to shatter this possibility.

We'll have to see if their fortunes increase when they meet up with the other bands later this year, at the New Zealand Championships.

Dalewool Auckland Brass

Special mention must go to Ken Cant who played extremely well on both days, and was awarded the Best Soloist in the Test Piece.

5. Kew, Mark Ford

Many hoping for an impressive result to farewell Kew's outgoing MD, Mark Ford, were disappointed for them, and we shall have to wait now until next year to see how they develop under their next MD.

The bands performance of Vienna Nights did let them down - there were just too many slips.  Consequently, Dr Roberts awarded the band 5th place - but 11 points behind the winners.

All the best to Mark, and his family, for the future.

Kew Band Melbourne

6. Willoughby Band, Andy Snell

Up from eighth last year to sixth, Willoughby had some good moments, and are clawing their way back to the top.

The band had some consistent, good scores with a third in the stage march, sixth in the Own Choice (Dove Descending - did anyone time it?), sixth in the Test, and fifth in the Hymn tune.

More of good things to come for Willoughby perhaps.

7. Warringah Concert Brass, John Saunders

This was a good result for Warringah, who are up to seventh from their thirteenth placing last year. 

Paganini Variations in the Own Choice was always going to be a tough choice, and its performance was less convincing than the test the day before, for which they came a very pleasing fifth place.  Consistency in scores across the two days helped Warringah average to this middle of the field position.

Providing us with some nice, warm sounding moments in their performances this year, Warringah should find their fortunes improve with some greater focus on the vertical movement of the band, and a stronger cornet section.

Warringah Concert Brass

8. Footscray Yarraville City Band, Phillipa Edwards

We've been watching Footscray with some enthusiasm since their performance at the last Adelaide Nationals in 2005, and since their third placing in Melbourne last year, when they received the highest score for the stage march.

This year's result was probably not the result that they were expecting, although they weren't too far from the action, coming fourth this year for the Own Choice playing St Magnus, and joint fifth for the Stage March. 

The band will no doubt be looking forward to competing in the Australasian Open later in the year.

Footscray Yarraville City Band

9. K&N Spring Gully Brass, Kevin Cameron

We were also looking forward to hearing K&N this year as well, who came in fourth at last year's nationals. 

Faring better with their Test Piece result, K&N let themselves down with their Own Choice piece, Macbeth, which would have required a lot of careful thought to prepare.  Some have gone so far as to question the musical value of their Own Choice work, but we still believe that whatever the musical merits of any piece are, it's still up to the bands to 'sell' the work in their performance.

We will be looking forward to seeing K&N reclaim their lost ground next year.

David Thornton with K&N Spring Gully Brass

10. Brisbane Brass, Greg Aitken

Always solid performers, Brisbane Brass just let themselves down in some of the more detailed moments of their performance.  Coming fourth in 2006, but slipping to 10th here. 

Over the course of the weekend, the band played consistently with very little variation in points awarded.

Apocolypse, the bands Own Choice, may have been another instance of the adjudicator not agreeing with the choice of music. 

In the acoustic of the City Hall - the band was very loud indeed.

Two flugels in Brisbane Brass for Apocolypse

11. South Brisbane Federal Brass Band, Lindon Weise

Certainly a change of fortunes for the 'Feds' this year, coming in eleventh after their seventh place last year.

The last year has seen many changes for the band, in terms of members and a recently appointed MD, and the associated issues did have an definite effect on the bands performances. 

Essence of Time was well chosen as the bands Own Choice, but was not as solid as the bands performance in the test on the day one.

It will be interesting to see how the year unfolds for the band, and where they will be placed at the end of next year's nationals.

12. Capricornia Silver Band, Dennis Ilott

Capricornia seemed very uncomfortable with some of the material in front of them over the weekend, maintain some good drive in the louder moments, but losing the delicacy required for the softer ones. Its Own Choice selection Journey to the Centre of the Earth was a sensible choice, but the band still did struggle.

However, it's always good to see one of our northern bands make the trip down to Brisbane for this competition.

Cornet section - Capricornia Silver Band

13. Darebin City Brass - Preston Band, Jason Mears

We were a little disappointed to see Darebin at the very bottom of the ladder, as we felt that their performances were better than some of the others on show over the weekend.  The awarding of 168 points for them in the Own Choice playing Contest Music, was a shock to say the least.

Hopefully they will achieve some better results next year.

The standard of the A Grade bands in Australia and New Zealand is improving and pleasingly so, with very little difference in overall standard between the top 4 bands.

Of course, the big question is whether Brisbane Excelsior will be able to retain the title for a fifth consecutive year.  A more pressing question is whether they will be able to retain their hold on the New Zealand National title as well. We shall have to wait and see. 
 
Adrian Head and Amanda Casagrande
Photos:  Deb Geayley