2010 West of England Regional Championship - First Section: Runners & Riders
5-Mar-2010A strong line up of 14 bands all aiming to make the most of a very difficult classic work and gain a long coach trip to Harrogate.
Saturday 13th March
Adjudicators: David Horsfield & Peter Bassano
The Forum
Test Piece: A Moorside Suite (Gustav Holst)
Draw: 1.00pm
Commences: 3.30pm
Despite the challenge of a very difficult set work to overcome, the First Section holds the promise of being perhaps one of the best to be heard anywhere around the country this weekend.
Although the region hasn’t produced a First Section National Champion it will surely only be a matter of time, as for the fourth consecutive year both qualifiers ended up in the top 10 at Harrogate (and it was the fifth year in a row that at least one got into the top six).
Strong field
This is a strong field of 14 well matched bands, and David Horsfield and Peter Bassano could well be in for a bit of a treat on Saturday afternoon. Holst was a man of the West Country (born in Gloucestershire), so the bands should have his music in their DNA.
With last year’s two qualifiers promoted, ten of last year’s contenders return with two relegated bands from the Championship Section and two promoted from the Second Section.
The two who dropped through that relegation trap door will be looking for a speedy return and both have title winning form at this level to fall back on.
Confident
Aldbourne should be confident despite unluckily dropping down after coming 6th in the top section. The experienced David Williams should coax a competitive performance from his band as they look to repeat their 2005 triumph.
Bournemouth had just fallen away off the pace in recent years following its startling 2006 Championship win. They return under the direction of Nigel Taken, who led them to victory at this contest in 2004.
Meanwhile, the two promoted bands from the Second Section will be looking to make just as significant a mark too.
Misplaced?
Camborne B will be full of confidence (as they have been for most of Alan Pope’s tenure) and it won’t be misplaced either after they took the Second Section title last year and went on to come 3rd at Harrogate. They have come such a long way since making their debuts in the Fourth Section in 2002 – and the upward journey doesn’t look like stopping any time soon.
The same can be said of Verwood Concert Brass, who were more than a touch unlucky not to have come higher than their eventual 9th place at Harrogate under the excellent David Johnson.
Two consecutive promotions show a band that is full of confidence – and determination to make it a hat trick of Harrogate appearances.
STORM brewing
One band all eyes will be one will surely be STORM Brass. The debutants have brought in the experienced Andrew Jones from across the Severn Bridge to head their challenge, and rumours suggest they could be ones to watch out for. Any band with the confidence to spell out their name in capital letters should be taken seriously.
St Austell were unlucky last year to miss out on a trip to the Finals, and return determined to put that right this time under Gareth Pritchard. This could well be a piece that suits the Welshman perfectly, and with plenty of talented players around the stand they will fancy their chances of repeating their 2002 victory.
Locked horns
The four bands that locked horns here at the SWBBA contest last November all return again, with the consistent Chalford under Steve Tubb hoping to build on the form that saw them come runner up there and go onto post a 9th place finish at Pontins. You have to go back a long way to find the last time the band qualified for the finals, so could this be their year?
Michelmersh Silver team up with Melvin White once again, hoping to build on their podium finish at the SWBBA Contest and their 7th place last year, as they look to head to Harrogate for the first time since 2003.
Lympstone South West Telecom just fell way last year to come 8th and will want to improve on their form after coming 6th in the Open class at the SWBBA contest. Meanwhile, Lanner (who were 7th there) will be looking to carry on the improved form of last year, when they leapt up the results table to come 6th and push towards the podium places.
2007 winner Hyde dropped down from the top section last year to put in a solid performance under Ivan Hutchinson to come 5th and will be looking to push for a qualification place this time around, whilst Ocean Brass is another band that will be looking to improve after coming a lowly 12th last time out.
Otterbourne Brass and Dr Chris Davies OBE are another band hoping to return to better contesting days after surprisingly ending up in 10th place last year, whilst Ian Dickinson and Portishead will want to show that they can carry on their improving form after just missing out on a podium finish 12 months ago.
As for a winner?
Just as hard as picking a winner in the top section this as a whole batch of bands could well leave here happy – or unhappy.
Of the contenders we think it could well be a battle between the likes of Camborne B, Aldbourne, Bournemouth, St Austell, Verwood and Chalford with the darkest of dark horses in STORM Brass.
Head on the block time then – and we opt for St Austell, with Camborne set to join them at Harrogate. Then it is a toss up, with that possible Storm brewing on the horizon.
4BR Prediction:
1. St Austell
2. Camborne B
3. Aldbourne
4. Bournemouth Concert
5. Verwood Concert Brass
6. Chalford
Dark Horse: STORM Brass
Aldbourne
Conductor: David Williams
Last 13 Years:
2009: 6th in Championship Section (M. White) (rel)
2008: 12th (M. White)
2007: 5th (C. King)
2006: 5th (S. Sykes)
2005: Winners of First Section (M. White) (prom)
2004: 4th (M. White)
2003: 7th (I. Holmes)
2002: 11th Championship (B. Grant) (rel)
2001: 7th (D. Williams)
2000: 5th
1999: 6th
1998: 2nd in First Section (prom)
1997: 4th
Bournemouth Concert Brass
Conductor: Nigel Taken
Last 13 Years:
2009: 9th in Championship Section (J. Camps) (rel)
2008: 10th (P. Parkes)
2007: 6th (N. Taken)
2006: 6th (L. Vertommen)
2005: Winners (N. Taken)
2004: Winners First Section (N. Taken) (prom)
2003: 3rd (N. Taken)
2002: 5th in Championship (N. Taken) (rel)
2001: 10th (L. Adams)
2000: 7th
1999: 4th
1998: 6th
1997: 3rd
Camborne B
Conductor: Alan Pope
Last 13 Years:
2009: Winners of Second Section (A. Pope) (prom)
2008: 5th (A. Pope)
2007: Winners of Third Section (A. Pope) (prom)
2006: 5th (A. Pope)
2005: 5th (A. Pope)
2004: 14th (A. Pope)
2003: 3rd in Fourth Section (A. Pope) (prom)
2002: 7th (A. Pope)
2001: DNC
2000: DNC
1999: DNC
1998: DNC
1997: DNC
Chalford
Conductor: Steve Tubb
Last 13 Years:
2009: 9th (S. Tubb)
2008: 8th (S. Tubb)
2007: 7th (S. Tubb)
2006: 7th (S. Tubb)
2005: 6th (S. Tubb)
2004: 7th (S. Tubb)
2003: 3rd in Second Section (S. Tubb) (prom)
2002: 4th (S. Tubb)
2001: 4th (S. Tubb)
2000: 15th
1999: 11th in First Section (rel)
1998: 14th
1997: 13th
Hyde
Conductor: Ivan Hutchinson
Last 13 Years:
2009: 5th (I. Hutchinson)
2008: 11th in Championship Section (P. Wise) (rel)
2007: Winners of First Section (J. Camps) (prom)
2006: 5th (J. Camps)
2005: 12th in Championship Section (P. Evans) (rel)
2004: 9th (P. Wise)
2003: 8th (P. Wise)
2002: 8th (J. Wise)
2001: 8th (J. Wise)
2000: 6th in First Section (prom)
1999: Winners
1998: 9th
1997: 7th
Lanner and District Silver
Conductor: Stuart Chappell
Last 13 Years:
2009: 6th (C. Toghill)
2008: 12th (C. Toghill)
2007: DNC
2006: 9th in Championship Section (G. Toghill) (rel)
2005: 8th (S. Chappell)
2004: 2nd First Section (S. Chappell) (prom)
2003: Winners of Second Section (S. Chappell) (prom)
2002: 5th (S. Chappell)
2001: DNC
2000: 14th in First Section (rel)
1999: 13th
1998: 7th
1997: 11th
Lympstone South West Telecom
Conductor: Charles Fleming
Last 13 Years:
2009: 8th (C. Fleming)
2008: 4th (C. Fleming)
2007: 9th (C. Fleming)
2006: 2nd in Second Section (C. Fleming) (prom)
2005: 5th (C. Fleming)
2004: 11th (C. Fleming)
2003: 2nd (C. Fleming)
2002: 6th (C. Fleming)
2001: 4th in Third Section (C. Fleming) (prom)
2000: Winners
1999: Winners of Fourth Section (prom)
1998: 3rd
1997: Winners of Fourth Section
Michelmersh Silver
Conductor: Melvin White
Last 13 Years:
2009: 7th (M. White)
2008: 4th in Second Section (M. White) (prom)
2007: 6th (L. Buchart)
2006: 6th (M. White)
2005: 7th (D. Graham)
2004: 12th (S. Large)
2003: Winners of Third Section (B. Kelloway) (prom)
2002: Winners (B. Kelloway)
2001: 8th (D. Wilds)
2000: 9th
1999: 8th
1998: 5th
1997: 12th
Ocean Brass
Conductor: Nick Grace
Last 13 Years:
2009: 12th (N. Grace)
2008: 6th (N. Grace)
2007: Winners of Second Section (N. Grace) (prom)
2006: 5th (N. Grace)
2005: 9th in First Section (N. Grace) (rel)
2004: 10th (L. Rich)
2003: 13th (D. Muir)
2002: 2nd (L. Rich)
2001: 13th (L. Rich)
2000: Winners of Second Section (prom)
1999: 7th
1998: N/K
1997: DNC
Otterbourne Brass
Conductor: Dr C. Davis OBE
Last 13 Years:
2009: 10th (Lt Col. C. Davis)
2008: 2nd (Lt Col. C. Davis)
2007: 6th (Lt Col. C. Davis)
2006: 9th (Lt Col. C. Davis)
2005: 8th (Lt Col. C. Davis)
2004: Winners of Second Section (Lt. Col. C. Davis) (prom)
2003: 4th (Lt. Col. C. Davis)
2002: 8th (Lt. Col. C. Davis)
2001: 9th (L. Sale)
2000: 2nd in Third Section (prom)
1999: 3rd
1998: 7th
1997: DNC
Portishead Town
Conductor: Ian Dickinson
Last 13 Years:
2009: 4th (I. Dickinson)
2008: 7th (I. Dickinson)
2007: 2nd in Second Section (I. Holmes) (prom)
2006: 4th (I. Holmes)
2005: Winners of Third Section (R. Griffiths) (prom)
2004: 6th (R. Griffiths)
2003: 7th (D. Beckley)
2002: 17th (D. Hollister)
2001: 11th (D. Hollister)
2000: 2nd in Fourth Section (prom)
1999: 5th
1998: 8th
1997: 20th
St. Austell
Conductor: Gareth Pritchard
Last 13 Years:
2009: 3rd (G. Pritchard)
2008: 7th in Championship Section (R. Newsome) (rel)
2007: 8th (D. Loukes)
2006: 8th (D. Loukes)
2005: 2nd (D. Loukes)
2004: 5th (D. Loukes)
2003: 7th (M. White)
2002: Winners of First Section (M. White) (prom)
2001: 8th in First Section (M. White)
2000: DNC (rel)
1999: 7th
1998: 9th
1997: 5th in First Section (prom)
STORM Brass
Conductor: Andrew Jones
Last 13 Years:
Debut
Verwood Concert Brass
Conductor: David Johnson
Last 13 Years:
2009: 2nd in Second Section (D. Johnson) (prom)
2008: Winners of Third Section (D. Johnson) (prom)
2007: 4th (D. Johnson)
2006: Winners of Fourth Section (D. Marshall) (prom)
2005: Winners (P. Norley)
2004: 11th (P. Norley)
2003: DNC
2002: DNC (rel)
2001: 18th
2000: N/K in Third Section (rel)
1999: 16th
1998: 18th
1997: 11th
Past Qualifiers:
2009: Poole Borough, Sherborne Town
2008: Helston Town, Otterbourne Brass
2007: Hyde, Woodfalls Concert Brass
2006: Helston Town, Lydbrook
2005: Aldbourne, Cinderford
2004: Bournemouth Concert, Lanner and District
2003: City of Bristol, Test Valley Brass
2002: St. Austell, Ocean Brass
2001: Thornbury, Cinderford Swanbrook
2000: Thornbury, Yeovil Town
1999: Hyde, Forest of Dean
1998: Yeovil Town, Aldbourne
1997: Lydmet Lydney, Cinderford Swanbrook
1996: St. Austell, N/K
1995: Swindon Pegasus, Lydbrook
West of England bands at the Finals:
2009: 6th, 7th
2008: 4th, 8th
2007: 6th, 8th
2006: 5th, 7th
2005: 4th, 16th
2004: 9th, 14th
2003: 11th, 12th
2002: 3rd, 7th
2001: 11th, 13th
2000: 3rd, 4th
1999: 12th, 15th
1998: 3rd, 5th