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Post Match Analysis:
Midlands Regional Championships 2002
Fourth Section:
Sunday 3rd March, Belvedere Club
Adjudicator: Steve Sykes
Commences: 11.00am
Results:
1. Wem Jubilee, R. Thorne, 185, 2
2. Leics Co-op Snibston Charnwood, 184, 1
3. Long Eaton Silver, S. Stansfield, 182, 7
4. Phoenix West Midlands Brass, M. Williams, 181, 10
5. Newhall Band, M. Phillips, 180, 5
6. Bakewell Silver, M. Wilcockson, 179, 6
7. Banovallum Brass (Horncastle), E. White, 178, 3
8. Wellington (Telford) Brass, S. Curtis, 177, 8
9. Rolls-Royce (Derby), N. Eden, 176, 16
10. Tideswell, B. Thompson, 175, 18
11. Enderby Youth Band, S. Osgood, 174, 4
12. Hathern 'B', G. Wood, 173, 11
13. Dunchurch Silver, G. Smallwood, 172, 17
14. Corby Silver, C. Stevens, 171, 9
15. Kirkby Colliery Welfare, S. Berrill, 170, 15
16. Black Country Brass, A. Manley, 169, 14
17. Skegness Silver, S. Walker, 168, 13
18. Swineshead Silver, D. J. Stephens, 167, 12
Top 3 bands qualify for the National Finals.
If ever two bands thought they were given a bad draw, then Wem
Jubilee and Leicester Co-op Snibston Charnwood would have been prime
candidates to curse their luck prior to the Regional Fourth Section
starting at the Belvedere Club on Sunday. Given by the end of the
day they had produced two really fine performances of the set test
by Gordon Jacob and had more than comfortably taken the top two
qualifying spots for Torquay, we don’t think you’ll hear
them complain too loudly the next time there are drawn early out
of the hat.
Leicester Co-op opened proceedings with a fine detailed performance
that had plenty of the good qualities of balance and tone that Steve
Sykes was looking for. All three movements had the stamp of a band
that had been rehearsed well by G. Jacklin and the end players all
gave thoroughly good accounts of themselves. It was a performance
that immediately had you thinking – "very nice" and
it was the bench mark for all the others to follow. That only one
other band could beat it was a bit of a surprise given that there
were 17 others to go, but it remained throughout the contest, the
performance that the audience and adjudicator for that matter kept
referring back to. Second place for the band was very well deserved.
Wem Jubilee followed on stage and immediately gave notice that
here was a band that was well rehearsed and had got all the basics
right. They had fuller sound than Leicester and a rounded tone that
belied their status. R. Thorne (sorry but we didn’t get the
Christian names) directed with so much sense and an appreciation
of the bands capabilities, that at no time did they appear to struggle
with the musical or technical content of the piece. All three movements
were very well played and they sounded a band that belonged a class
higher. Well done to all and top spot was more than justified.
Third place and the remaining qualification spot went to another
band early in the draw at number 7, and Long Eaton also did the
business of getting the basics right and leaving the music flow.
Nothing too fancy and real good solid performances from each of
the soloists saw them home just ahead of 4th placed band
Phoenix West Midlands Brass. Long Eaton should be well satisfied
at the result and claming the trip to Torquay. They weren’t
on this occasion quite there with the two leaders but they sounded
a band more than capable of improving further and putting up a strong
challenge come the Finals.
Just outside the qualification spots came Phoenix and Newhall,
whilst both Bakewell and Banovallum produced good solid performances
that were only let down by some individual mistakes and a propensity
to let it "rip" a couple of times too many. They both
played well, but against the better bands that came above them,
they just lacked that little bit of classy playing to make more
of a mark.
Wellington, Rolls Royce and Tideswell came 8th, 9th
and 10th, and again there was plenty to credit in their
performances, but the main problem was that they couldn’t sustain
the quality throughout all three movements and the Finale in particular
suffered from tired lips and intonation problems. Still all three
have plenty to cheer and will be stronger this time next year.
From 11th place down to 15th was a toss up
really between the bands, and in truth any of them could have changed
places without too much trouble. Enderby, Hathern, Dunchurch, Corby
and Kirkby filled the places in that order, but there was very little
to choose between them and all had more good moments than bad. Intonation
and splits possibly accounted for them all not coming higher and
they were all unable to sustain the quality playing through all
three movements. Still, plenty of good stuff to work on during the
year.
The bottom three struggled to be fair and they were a little of
the pace and meant that as they all played after each other the
contest had a bit of a lull in the middle. All three bands, Black
Country Brass, Skegness Silver and Swineshead Silver attempted to
play the piece and had some good moments throughout. They should
all be congratulated for their efforts and the spirit they showed
in trying to overcome some very real difficulties. All three conductors
obviously had worked hard and there was plenty of good raw (and
young) material to mould together to make a stronger challenge
next year. We wish them all well and we hope to be able to report
success for all three in 2003.
© 4BarsRest
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