Comments ~ 2008 March

Dove...; Missing Mute; Well done, Corey; Best deal for Concert Bands; Concert Bands Disadvantaged, again; More contests...more people

Dove...

Dear all,

Just a quick note to say that, contrary to popular belief, ……Dove Descending, is not, by default, over 18 minutes.

The front page of the score states that it’s 15 ½ minutes (that would be some performance though!), but the Dyke recording is 17 minutes 56 seconds, but is actually quite slow in a number of the accel sections.

Having received the adjudication CD I can now put this to rest for ever, Willoughby’s performance was 17 mins 11 seconds, not even close to incurring whatever dastardly penalty awaits those who dare to transgress the time limit (being made to march twice next year, perhaps?).

Incidentally, and just for the sheer devilment of it, if any band were penalised for exceeding the time limit, how would that have looked, given the 35 minute delay to the start of the A-grade due to Kew’s permit player problems (the right decision, by the way) – can you deduct points from the QBA?

Thanks to everyone for a great weekend of good music, fabulous performances, even better socialising and a historic result, congrats to all at XLCR.

Regards

Andy Snell

Missing Mute

My name is Rhys Mckee from Boroondara Brass Band who recently competed at the 2008 Nationals in Brisbane.

I wasn't quite sure where to write this but my rather expensive Dennis Wick tuba mute went missing from the town hall on Sunday and I really need to get it back.

How would I be able to get the word out as I have no other way of finding it?

Rhys McKee

4BRDU reply:  
Anyone able to help Rhys?  Please contact us initially and we will put you in touch with Rhys

Well Done, Corey

Read your comment on Yellow Cabs Bayside brass, about showing some improvement because of a new MD.

Corey Clarke, the ex-MD, did an excellent job and gave the band 110%.

Its the players that make a good band  - majority of players dont practice at home, dont warm up and band practice is once a week.

Well done I say to Corey Clarke, and thank you for the time and effort you and your family put into brass banding . I hope to see in the future the Clarke family back in brass banding.

Good luck  YELLOW CABS.

David Bellis

Best deal for Concert Bands

Nicole Molloy's said: "The concert band section of the weekend competition has once again, been put on a day when the brass bands are not present (or will be arriving in the state that day) so they will have little or no audience." Correct me if I am wrong but that appears to be saying that the audience for Concert Band competitions at the Nationals is largely made up of the members and / or perhaps fans of Brass Bands.

May I say I very much doubt the validity of that statement.

Nicole also said "In Sydney 2009, the concert bands have been scheduled on the day of the Street March, hence counting them out for an audience at their performance time also (not to mention counting them out of competing in the march)." These two factors appear to add up to some sort of plot against or lack of appreciation by organising committees and brass bandies of Concert bands. As a member of the sub-committee I can confirm that the draft schedule has the Open Concert Bands planned for Saturday.

Now these are only my thoughts, but a couple of reasons for this scheduling have been that Saturday is only two sleeps away from Thursday. So there is a reduction in the number of days that concert band players / conductors may need to take off work in 2009 on the basis that they can enter the solos, cool their heels for a day and then compete on Saturday.

The opposite being true for Brass band players and conductors. They go from Thursday to Sunday in between Solos and their first on stage performance - at least under draft scheduling.

Why (you may say) weren't Open Grade Concert Bands scheduled for Friday? The answer lays in the fact that there is an opportunity for junior brass and concert bands to be showcased on Saturday afternoon at the Royal Easter Show because we have a blanket booking on the 1500 seat auditorium out there and it is thought that one way of encourage young people into bands is to showcase their peers who are in a band, having a great time. So Friday is when the junior brass and concert may play although there is a problem which I won't go into at the moment.

Back to Saturday.

May I ask who said Concert Bands won't get an opportunity to take part in the Parade of Bands scheduled for Saturday morning at Olympic Park? To be honest with you, I don't think they will because we have a 4 hour time slot for that event and we are anticipating approximately 50 brass bands entering the 2009 Nationals. So it is likely to take four hours for all of them to participate. But the final decision will depend upon actual entries received. But let's assume that the Concert Bands won't be able to take part. Neither will the junior bands but they have 'concert time' available them Saturday afternoon and maybe morning as well if there are enough entries and interested bands.

Maybe it is acceptable to miss out on something provided you are not a member of a concert band? Is that the way Nicole's posting is taking us? 

The scheduling as detailed has Open Grade Concert Bands appearing at the Seymour Centre on Saturday. My market research tells me that Saturday is the best day and night of the week to get an audience to a live Theater performance. The organising committee anticipates 30 Open Grade Concert bands will enter the 2009 Nationals and we have two glorious theaters available for them to perform in. Rough sums means we need approximately (to be on the safe side) 20 hours of time for the number of bands to perform or (say) 10 hours per concert Hall. Working backward from a 10.00pm finish the events would start at approximately 12.00pm (not when the parade of bands starts but maybe an hour before that event finishes). Not a bad idea from an organising point of view with some us at Olympic Park and some at the Seymour Centre with all hands on deck at the Seymour Centre asap.

As someone who is aware of the need to budget and get it as close as possible to actuals, I point out that the committee will not be relying on Brass Band members to buy tickets to the Concert Band concerts on Saturday.

The Seymour Centre has huge bill boards out the front, they have on-line promotion and so will BANSW and we will be promoting ticket sales for maybe 12 months.

But can I ask someone to please explain how showcasing Concert Bands on the best night of the week for an audience disadvantages them.

Geoff Moore,
Secretary BANSW

(All comments are my own and not necessarily those of any member of the association including members of the management or organising committees.)

Concert Bands disadvantaged, again

As a member of a nationally competing concert band,  I’d have to agree with Steve Jarman that concert bands are disadvantaged every year at the ANBC. The concert band section of the weekend competition has once again, been put on a day when the brass bands are not present (or will be arriving in the state that day) so they will have little or no audience.

In Melbourne 2007, the announcer at the A Grade brass results on the Sunday stated “Thank you for attending the Australian National Band Championships. See you next year!” when there was still a day of competition to go. The concert bands were completely ignored.

Unley Concert Band competed in the street march but were not mentioned on any official press or websites, nor did they receive any accolades for their ‘win’.  Aust Band World, shortly after, published a letter from a brass bandsman, stating that concert bands shouldn’t even be on the same weekend. Every year, the concert bands are scheduled where solo and party competitors are forced to take a day or two off work. In Sydney 2009, the concert bands have been scheduled on the day of the Street March, hence counting them out for an audience at their performance time also (not to mention counting them out of competing in the march).  

Is it just me or is there a pattern arising? With the recent disappointing entries in the concert band division in both band and solo/party events, you can surely understand why many concert bands are opting out of the expensive interstate trips to compete when they are not received with the same fervour as the brass bands.  UCB are limited to solo & party events this year and will be appearing against little or no competition due to the limited numbers in the solos. This is a sad reality, becoming more and more apparent as the years go by.

I think it is time that ALL bands are recognised in the same fashion. There is a great wealth of musical talent at the championships that is not limited to brass playing. The concert bands also deserve high accolades for musicianship and technical skill. We are there, first and foremost, for the music and the concert bands have just as much to offer.  

Nicole Molloy
Unley Concert Band, SA.

More contests..more people

I am assuming your March Editorial follows the announcement that Australia’s Band World has ceased publication. As a former subscriber I am a little surprised it lasted as long as it did especially once it stopped being published monthly. The first couple of issues after that date contained information which was literally months old. Of course they had also been published on 4barsrest and no doubt discussed on Spitvalve for quite a while before the print reports arrived.

How is a print magazine supposed to “compete” with live reporting from events such as Nationals, State Championships and the Ern Keller?!

There may be printed publications in the UK, however as their population is 3 times that of Australia plus they no doubt have readership in Europe these magazines are more viable. You would assume the production costs to be similar, they just have a much larger readership base.

There are obviously many more factors such as the fact that there appears to be a major competition of some sort happening virtually every week over there plus a much larger banding movement.

Stephen Williams