|
British Open Championships 2003
Gordon Jenkins
2003 Stanley Wainwright Memorial Trophy Winner
British Open Championships
 This
years Stanley Wainwright Memorial Trophy for the “Best Soloist”
at the British Open, was won by Gordon Jenkins, the 46 year old
soprano player with the Whitburn Band from Scotland. On a piece
that certainly had it moments of terror for the flugel, solo cornet,
euphonium and horn, it was the soprano part that was perhaps the
most fiendishly difficult of them all, and so it was quite deserving
that for the second year in a row the award was given to a soprano
player.
We first caught up with him backstage prior to the announcement
of the places (the Soloist Award is announced first) and he was
both out of breath, slightly bemused and it would be fair to say,
a touch merry – but who could blame him! (Whitburn had played
superbly and the band had taken the time to have a few drinks, confident
in the knowledge that they had done themselves proud he told us).
His performance with the band had been described by William Relton
as “sweet”, by Stephen Roberts as “Excellent”
and “Outstanding” and by Philip Sparke as “Imperious!”
– he was a well deserved winner, and the achievement was even
more impressive as it was done in competition against the best soprano
players in the land. All the stars of the instrument were there
on the day – and many played very, very well indeed, but it
was the quiet man form Whitburn who topped the lot.
The only pity was that the audience didn’t get the chance
to applaud his achievement with him on stage, as by the time he
got to back of the auditorium there were only the top three prizes
left to be handed out. Gordon didn’t care too much though
as he was soon was smiling like a Cheshire Cat when Whitburn were
announced as runners up. However, he did manage to get his hands
on the trophy within minutes of the winners being revealed, and
as YBS players celebrated, this fine player quietly picked up his
prize and politely answered the questions of the media.
We also spoke to him on Monday night (Saturday and Sunday were
lost to the short term memory in a celebratory haze he said) and
he was still slightly bemused at his achievement.
“I still can’t quite believe it” he told us.
“The band played so well, and that made it easy for me. We
just seemed so confident on stage and the way in which Andy Duncan
had prepared the band meant that we were sure we could do well.
I thought I played OK, but the important thing from my point of
view was that the band was happy with the way they played –
we had a few blips, but overall it was a great show.”
“Coming runners up is a brilliant achievement for the band,
especially as we have been rebuilding somewhat this year and we
hadn’t qualified for London, but the arrival of Andy Duncan
has been a revelation – we are now playing to a different
level of performance and that has been down to him – I find
him a quite inspirational conductor to work under.”
Gordon Jenkins started playing the cornet at the age of 11 at Pershore
High School in Worcester under Stan Smith (he is an Englishman living
in Scotland, with as he says, a Welsh surname, so he feels at home
just about anywhere). He joined the Langley Band under Dennis Masters
as a young teenager and was soon moved onto soprano because no one
else wanted to do it. Ever since, he has felt at home on it.
In 1979 he joined the Royal Marines as Principal Cornet at their
Deal headquarters in Kent and spent the next eight years travelling
the world and performing wherever the services needed entertaining.
In 1988 he left and because he was based in Scotland at the time,
decided to stay because he loved the area.
“The years I spent in the Marines were great, as I got to
play every day and learnt so much from people such as Professor
Sidney Rose, the Trumpet Professor at School of Music in Deal”
he said. “I had the chance to see the world, get a good trade
and enjoy myself, but I couldn’t quite see myself spending
all my life in the Marines and so I left after eight years and found
myself a job as a Peripatetic Teacher in Edinburgh.”
Since then he has played with many of the top bands in Scotland,
including spells with Cowdenbeath, then Kingdom Brass, followed
by a spell at Bo’ness and Carriden, a first time spell with
Whitburn and then onto Newtongrange. He returned to Whitburn last
year in time for the Open on “The Maunsell Forts”, but
he also took time on his travels to take the opportunity to meet
up and marry his wife Eileen who still plays with Newtongrange on
solo horn.
“My wife was delighted with me for winning” he said.
“She puts up with me making the 60 mile round trip to rehearsal,
and competing against her at local and National contests, so this
win and with the band coming runners up make it all worthwhile in
her eyes too!”
Gordon told us that coming back to Whitburn for a second time has
given him a real boost to his playing. “I first joined Cowdenbeath,
then Kingdom Brass, before I moved to Bo’ness where I was
a member of the band which won the Scottish Regional title. I had
great times at all these bands and am very grateful to them all,
but I enjoyed the spirit of the banding at Whitburn and even though
my first spell with them lasted just the two years in 1997 and 1998,
I jumped at the change to rejoin them.”
Over the years he has enjoyed playing against the great soprano
players and ranks Peter Roberts and Brian Evans as the two finest
players he has heard on the instrument. “These are real heroes
of mine – how Peter Roberts plays as he does is beyond me,
whilst I always thought Brian Evans to be the most musical soprano
player I have ever heard.”
So what does the future now hold for the Stanley Wainwright winner?
“The Scottish Open is next up for the band, and I know there
will be added pressure on me to play well. Sop players are only
as good as their last performance, so knowing that “Paganini
Variations” is a hard part for me, I will be practising hard
to make sure I don’t make a fool of myself! The British Open
was a great day in my musical life, but come the next contest I
know I have to start from scratch again.”
It is always nice to interview modest people, and Gordon Jenkins
is a lovely modest man. On Saturday 14th September 2003 though he
was a very special player indeed and thoroughly deserved his soloist
prize. He told us that his ambition is now to win it again, and
if he plays like that again, you wouldn’t bet against it.
Fact File:
Gordon Jenkins
Age: 46
Instrument: Schilke soprano cornet
Mouthpiece: Vincent Bach 12C
Favourite Band Piece: …Dove Descending
Favourite Solo: Intermezzo from Cavaleria Rusticana
Football Team: Not a great follower of the game,
so I don’t mind of Scotland, England or even Wales win!
Current Job: Peripatetic teacher in Edinburgh
for brass – although as most bands are wind bands here I don’t
get to teach many cornet, euph or sop players!
Favourite Players: Brian Evans and Peter Roberts
– the two greatest sop players I have heard.
Advice to young players: Listen and learn. Listen
to the best players around and note how they play and learn from
it. Then practice, practice and practice until you can play like
them too.
© 4BarsRest
 back
to top
| 
