A remarkable performance borne of Scottish resolve distilled into 17 minutes or so of concentrated musical excellence saw Whitburn claim the Grand Shield title in Blackpool.
Drawn from the deepest reserves of character on Edward Gregson's 'The World Rejoicing', they claimed the trophy for a third time to return to the British Open. It came just seven days after an exhausting trip to Malmo where they had given a brace of major test-piece performances against the cream of European banding.
The impressiveness of the achievement is emphasised by the fact that they are the first UK band to compete at the European Championships and qualify for the British Open in the same year (since 1983 the championships have been two weeks apart at most). 10 others have all tried and failed before them.
So much to admire
Adjudicators Dr Robert Childs and David Hirst referred to their rendition of Edward Gregson's 'The World Rejoicing' as "a first-class performance" with "so much to admire", enhanced by "excellent soloists" and an MD "who understood the music".
That was Prof Nicholas Childs, displaying a remarkable competitive zest of his own after leading Black Dyke in Sweden, as he became the first conductor to win the Grand Shield five times.
Whitburn will hope that they will not have to put themselves through such a contest wringer ever again though. The faces of the players were an emotional mix of joy, relief and fatigue as took to the stage with their inspirational conductor as well as Edward Gregson to start their celebrations.
Wow!
"Wow!", one simply told 4BR. "We could only really manage a 50-minute rehearsal on Wednesday as we just didn't have anything left in the tank. Nick saw that, told us to get some rest and come back refreshed. He understood what we needed — and the response was incredible. Today is a special day in Whitburn's contesting history."
Given the circumstances (although the band performed the work at the Scottish Open last November) few would argue — least of all 19 rivals who came up against a band that produced an account that intertwined clarity and balance, technical certainty and artistic style imbued with a confidence that never wavered.
It was epitomised by their young solo horn player Andrew McMillan, who deservedly claimed the 'Best Instrumentalist Award', whilst others, such as the experienced trio of Paul Kiernan on trombone, Scott Forrest on soprano and Chris Bradley on cornet also sunk stanchions of classiness into the stage floor to anchor a performance that never lost focus or quality.
MD thanks
"I can't thank the band enough for their efforts," Prof Childs told 4BR. "They were excellent in Malmo and unlucky not to have come higher, but they put any disappointment to one side as soon as we started back to work this week and gave me everything.
I know they can celebrate as well as anyone after a win, and on this occasion, I hope they have the energy to do it for the whole of next week"
Given the adrenaline rush that was still on tap on Saturday evening, you sense quite a few will manage to do that and more.
Hepworth return
Another band ending a frustrating wait to return to the British Open will join them at Symphony Hall in September, as Hepworth's nine year absence came to an end under the baton of Ryan Watkins.
His delight was obvious as he wrote on his Facebook page: "So incredibly proud of the players… They produced an outstanding performance with control and music at the forefront. They deserved no less. 15 players under the age of 30. These three years has seen the band progress so much and I'm glad lady luck was on their side."
That progress has seen them qualify for the National Finals in 2021, win the Dr Martin Contest in 2022 and now return to the British Open for the first time since 2014 thanks to a high class performance that gave the judges a mid-point contest marker that repelled everyone except the later drawn Scots.
It was a vivid portrayal of the Gregson score; confident and consistent with an admirably balanced sense of style and excitement. They are a band and a conductor to watch out for if they keep up this rate of progress.
Lyrical Reg Vardy
As ever at the Grand Shield the first step of the prize-winner's podium comes with pride as well as disappointment.
Reg Vardy will perhaps take plenty of the former and quite a bit less of the latter given the rebuilding process they have been in over the last few years, as Russell Gray's lyrical account, that despite some obvious clips and errors was infused with a fine stamp of musicality.
That was borne out by the pre-results remarks of Dr Robert Childs who said that the top two bands had been "particularly good" out of the three that had "displayed the higher order skills of style, tempo relationships (especially in transition) and artistry".
Top five or six
Behind them came the three others of the "top five or six really top performances", that had impressed the experienced duo perched in the dress circle of the Opera House, where the sound of the bands on what is usually a very dead stage acoustic floats upwards instead of out.
"It's perhaps the best place to listen here," Dr Bob Childs told 4BR. "We could hear the bands that were comfortable and those who were not."
Clear agreement
Bob also confirmed that the duo was in clear agreement in their joint assessments — with fourth place going to a confident, if occasionally inconsistent Oldham (Lees) who made a late push for British Open qualification as the penultimate band to take to the stage
It also meant that Carlton Main Frickley could not make an immediate return to Symphony Hall following last year's relegation, as their persuasive account finished fifth. The final top-six place went to the early marker off the number 3 draw from the GUS Band.
Elsewhere, the midfield finishers all produced performances of merit, without in the opinion of the judges really hallmarking their performances with the "higher order" elements that would have pushed them towards potential qualification.
From City of Bradford in seventh down to Rainford in sixteenth, each had extended sections of undeniable quality, but also found difficulties in successfully moving through the numerous transitions, hitting the right tempos (both quick and slow — "exciting but not excitable", "slower but not slow" as Bob said) and encountering basic intonation and balance issues.
Relegation
Such is the closely matched quality of the bands at the contest, relegation is a realistic threat to all the competitors if they do not have a good contesting day at the office. Few complaints then from Dalmellington, Wantage, Pemberton Old Wigan DW and Ashton under Lyne — each of whom never quite performed as they would have hoped for.
The Grand Shield remains arguably the most difficult contest in the banding world to escape from let alone win, with numerous highly competitive top level bands enduring a form of Blackpool purgatory — sometimes years on end before they finally make the trip to Symphony Hall.
Whitburn will "rejoice" for some time to come that they have finally done that with a superb display of musical commitment and excellence that saw them crowned 2023 champion.
They will not want to have to do it again.
Iwan Fox
The impressiveness of the achievement is emphasised by the fact that they are the first UK band to compete at the European Championships and qualify for the British Open in the same year. 10 others have all tried and failed before them4BR
Grand Shield:
Test-piece: The World Rejoicing — Symphonic Variations on a Lutheran Chorale (Edward Gregson)
Adjudicators: Dr Robert Childs, David Hirst
1. Whitburn (Prof Nicholas Childs)*
2. Hepworth (Ryan Watkins)*
3. Reg Vardy (Russell Gray)
4. Oldham Band (Lees) (John Collins)
5. Carlton Main Frickley Colliery (Allan Withington)
6. The GUS Band (Dr David Thornton)
7. City of Bradford (Gareth Brindle)
8. Friary Brass (Nigel Taken)
9. NASUWT Riverside (Michael Fowles)
10. Wingates (Andrea Price)
11. Ratby Co-operative (Mareika Gray)
12. Milnrow (Lee Skipsey)
13. City of Hull (Dean Jones)
14. Camborne Town (Ian Porthouse)
15. Skelmanthorpe (Martin Heartfield)
16. Rainford (Sarah Groarke-Booth)
17. Dalmellington (Erik Janssen)**
18. Wantage (Jonathan Pippen)**
19. Pemberton Old Wigan DW (Ben Dixon)**
20. Ashton under Lyne (Martyn Evans)**
Best Instrumentalist: Andrew McMillan (horn) — Whitburn
*Promoted to the British Open
**Relegated to the Senior Cup
