Comments ~ 2002: June

Comments from June 2002

Super Sop?
I think a worthy addition to your list of greatest Sop players would be Roy Roe.

I played in the same band as Roy for several years in the 60's and early 70's, and on both contest and concert stage and he was always technically brilliant with a sweet crystal clear tone. He was always as safe as houses, rock solid and artistic with it. He was a major contributor to many prize-winning performances - I would definitely rate him in the top echelon.

On another subject altogether!
Over the years I have frequently and publicly criticised the choice of 1st Section test pieces. Well I feel it only fair to say that I find "Leonardo" a truly remarkable piece. It is innovative, technically challenging and a pleasure to work on.

It also has warm sounds and beautiful melodic lines - and before you ask, Yes, I find the muted Bass passages very effective, adding a unique atmospheric quality.

I must admit that my previously discussed money saving, (Penny pinching!) idea, that we should not buy bass mutes, and that we should just play the muted passages "Open", and invest the money saved on a few crates of Stella, was wrong.

To play the passages "Open" would have corrupted the composer's sensitivity!!! (How's that for a phrase??)

Ian Wilkinson

4BR Reply:
Roe Roy was certainly someone who we considered, but at the time he was playing he was up against some pretty fantastic rivals, and we have tried to place the players we have chosen in some sort of chronological order. There were others as well around this time and the choice was very difficult.

We are sure he would get in other people's top 10 without a problem, but on this occasion not quite for us - a very fine player though.

As for the muted basses? We are sure that by spending your hard earned cash will have the beneficial help come the contest - don't know about the composer's sensitivities, but we have complete faith in the judges being able to tell if something is open or muted and will mark accordingly - honest we do!

Super Sops Part 2
Thanks for the list of Top 10 Soprano Players. And what a list it is!

There are a couple of names I am not old enough to remember, although I may well have heard them on some historical recordings of a by-gone era. Tommy Waterman and Ron Harrison were the first Soprano players I remember as a youngster. I wanted to emulate them until I actually picked up a sop and quickly learned how difficult it was and stuck with Bb all the more impressed with their playing!

From S.A. ranks, Ron Harrison would on my list, together with Max Orchard from Melbourne. There is also a legend in Canada in Ernie Parr, a Scot who was apparently a quite amazing man on sop. I never heard him play but his Reputation stands to this day. David Jones of G.U.S. deserves at least honourable mention for his many years of fine work.

In your comments about Brian Evans you could have included his performance on Force of Destiny at the National (1963?). I also appreciated his tone in Morning from Peer Gynt and the Intermezzo from Cavaleria Rusticana both with Fairey.

What else can be said about Peter Roberts? Where is his much-deserved solo album? What are the chances of hearing him in recorded performances of Albion and Les Preludes (the new one!)? Surely such releases would be a commercial success.

The information on the former greats was really interesting too. Thanks for that insight into the legacy of soprano players. A great article and I look forward to reading other responses.

John Brooks
Cambridge, Ontario

4BR Reply:

Some really great names to consider John. Ron Harrison was rightly regarded as a very fine player in his day, but we must admit to not knowing anything about Max Orchard and Ernie Parr - we take your word that they were something special.

We know that our list will never quite please everyone, but that is not its point. What it does is open up a debate about what people think, and hopefully gets us to remember some truly great players who would otherwise be possibly forgotten in the mists of time.

What about Salvation Sops?

Dear 4BarsRest.

Just read your review of the Top 10 Soprano players; not that I violently disagree with any of your choices (especially the one or two I had never heard of!), however, I have to ask: did you make a conscious and deliberate decision to exclude Salvation Army players?

If not, then I cannot see how you could have missed Ron Harrison, former soprano of the International Staff Band. I never knew him personally, but anyone who ever heard him play at his peak (I cannot give you exact dates, but I know from record sleeves that he played with the ISB at least from the late-60's until
around the mid-80's) will tell you that he was an exceptionally gifted musician, with a formidable technique, unbelievable stamina, and a degree of range and power that would have compared well with some of the best.

True, towards the latter part of his career, his tone (ie: vibrato!) might have been considered dated, but that should not detract from the fact that, at his best, he was probably, in many respects, years ahead of his contemporaries.

A brief glance at some of the many ISB recordings on which he played (and I am going into 'anorak' mode here!) would include "Kingdom Triumphant" (listen to the descant in the finale, and the attack on the final chord!), "My Comfort and Strength" (a live recording at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, in 1970 - some of the most dramatic "live" playing I have ever heard!; also, the final section of "The Triumph of Peace", recorded in 1973, not to mention the repeated top 'D's in "The Prodigal" (1980), a feat which was reproduced "live" in concert, on many occasions. There are many other such examples I could mention, but, not to labour the point, I feel that you may have done a great disservice to the improving relationship between Secular and Salvationist bands by omitting one of the great soprano players from your review.

Regards,

Gareth J. Green

4BR Reply:
Many thanks for letting us know about the merits of Ron Harrison - a truly fine player. We can assure you that we did not make a deliberate decision to omit any Salvation Army players, but as we have said in another reply - we know we can't please everyone with our choices - the purpose of our list is to generate debate, and we have certainly done that!

Perhaps it was easier for us to choose players who have graced the contest rather than concert stages over the years (and this may be a fault of ours) but we stick by our choices.

Many thanks for putting us straight though and we hope others can give us more information about a player who obviously gave so much pleasure to so many people.

Playing the Percentages
It was interesting to read your predictions for the Areas. In this matter no one is going to get a high rate of success - you're more likely to win the pools each week. (Football Pools forecasting is more or less based on form unlike the lottery).

Most people accept the unpredictable nature of contesting - lets face it; there are so many variables involved. So I do not think you need to be forever apologising or putting yourself down for getting predictions wrong - your 32% or so for bands going to the finals is fine - if you are wrong, so what.

Keep making the predictions and giving tips - it adds a lot of fun and interest,

Keep up the great work.

Regards
Albert Roland

4BR Reply:
Thanks Albert. As you may or may not be aware, 4BR takes a very scientific approach to the question of predictions (not all of our predictions are blind guesswork - honest!). We are quite chuffed with our success rate, even though we do tend to put the kiss of death on many of the bands we tip to win. Still - at least we have the balls to put our necks on the line (strange mixed metaphor that, but you know what we mean).

We are happy to be found wanting - and to take the flak when we are wrong - at least it makes for a bit more interest in the pub after practice.

Grand Shield Reply
Dear 4BR,

In response to Tim Malpas response to my email about the Grand Shield result:

In my original email I broke a golden rule of mine about commenting on a performance I myself had not heard and in doing so have caused upset to the players of the band concerned. I wish to try and go some way towards rectifying this by apologising to the Cwmaman band - further I wish them well in the Open and hope they can prove their doubters wrong. Hard work can reap the right rewards. Please accept my sincere apologies. as far as the 4BR reply to the email went - I heard 6 of the 8 performances left after I had got off stage and had some lunch - and I whole-heartedly agree with the comment that it is unfortunate that we have to play to such small audiences. I was disappointed with the turnout for Wingates performance (which I suspect was one of the larger ones during the day…)

I worked hard in my original message to try and present a balanced view - and not one that appeared as though I was suffering from sour grapes. Having re-read it (and notwithstanding the comments above) I am generally happy with what I wrote. My complaint was about the fact that my band is now relegated unfairly as the result of a single spurious adjudication (which in my opinion was plain wrong), rather than being judged in the context of performances at the contest over a 2 or 3 year period - which would be a much fairer way of doing things.

I don't like 'holier than thou' attitudes to band contest results because we've all been involved in contests where we all know the adjudicator got it wrong (including the man himself). You've only got to look at this years Cambridge results to see how widely differing perspectives exist of the same set of performances.

Finally thank you to the many people who have contacted me (and the band) with supportive and encouraging comments. We have started out on the road to recovery - as our results on Whit Friday showed. Yes several archrivals were missing that night, but don't let that detract from the fact that the band played consistently well all night and fully deserved the overall 3rd place in Tameside.

Thank you 4BR for indulging me in this reply. Hopefully this is subject closed!

Andy Wyatt

4BR Reply:
Can't agree more mate. Subject now closed.

European "Open"?
I read your article on the British Open Contest, and your suggestions about how it could/should evolve in the future.

What I would like is a possibility for non-British bands to compete at the Open - after all, it is called the British "Open", no? Why not invite continental (or worldwide?) bands to participate -via the "Grand Shield" or based on other merits?

For a continental band, it is very difficult to compete in serious contests, as there is only our "National Contest", and - only for the lucky national champions - the European contest. There are a few other contests (in the Netherlands, France) but never with the same kind of competition as in the big British contests (and very often they are "entertainment contests").You might say: why not organise an alternative European Open (like in Switzerland, or the "WMC" in Kerkrade)? Well, in theory this would be the best solution for the problem, only: the British bands won't come to that kind of contests, which is quite understandable. Thus, it will be almost impossible to raise the level of these contests to that of the British contests (what's the use of saying that you became "World Champion" in Kerkrade, when the big guys weren't there?).

The SCABA has been so kind in the past to accept our participation in their contests; maybe other contests could open their doors a little more to the continent. This way, banding might become a more "international" movement, and I'm convinced that it would benefit the level of continental bands (and, who knows, we get the chance to ameliorate our 4BR-ranking a little...;-)

Just my thoughts,

Stef Pillaert, euphonium, Brass Band Willebroek (that's in Belgium, just across the canal ;-)

4BR Reply:
Many thanks Steff. Lots of good points and plenty to chew over, but the British Open has been "Open" in the past with bands such from as far afield as Australia and New Zealand playing at the contest.

In 2000 the Woolston Band from New Zealand competed and Hawthorn from Australia competed in 1982. Before that of course both the Newcastle Band and the National Band of New Zealand won the contest!

There is no doubt the contest would be enhanced by the inclusion of the top bands from Europe, but there are too many bands at the contest to start off with, and those there wouldn't be too pleased to be dropped and replaced by a band that hasn't qualified for the contest through the Grand Shield.

Perhaps pressure should be put on to see if the leading European band at the European Championships could get an invite each year to compete at the contest later that same year as a starter?

Brass Band Makeover?
4BR:

I wrote a few weeks ago on the fact that banding needs a make over. It still seems that many peoples perception of banding is working class and cloth
caps, consequently the controllers at classic fm probably think it is beneath them, the same going for the BBC as someone else has suggested.

Also there is more to the brass band repertoire than the Padstowe Lifeboat and the Floral Dance. I am a recent convert to banding and have the Melody
Shop CD by Grimethorpe, the music being comparable to any orchestra.

If you look at a lot of the grass roots bands they rely heavily on school children to fill the ranks and for future players, so how about promoting the merits of banding via children's television "its got to be cool to
play". Banding has got to get away from its old working class image (although I hate to say because they are my roots) and realise its full potential. Contesting is obviously a major part of the brass band world but a shift to towards more festivals ie proms, and the concert arena as local amateur orchestra maybe of benefit.

John Bray

4BR Reply:
You are an optimistic man. The problem for us is not that we have moved from our roots, but that the media (television especially) has moved away from its own roots. Do you really think brass bands are going to get coverage when the television companies can spew out cheap trash like "Big Brother", the "Lottery", "Richard and Judy" - the list is endless.

Even children's television is composed of crap Japanese style cartoons, crap Australian soaps and even crappier UK "Teletubby" shows. The same goes for the radio - Classic FM is just cheap output of "Hooked on Classics".

We need to push hard indeed, but the media is full of media types - vacuous, brainless luvvies and darlings who wouldn't know the merits of a brass band if one came to their house and had a rehearsal in their front room. Things will only get worse before they get better we're afraid.

Sorry to get on our high horse - but that's the reality of Mr Murdoch's global media domination - wall to wall crap.

Smell That!
Dear 4BR:
I was wondering if any study has been done on the germs/bacteria allowed to form in old brass instruments?

I can't be the only brass player who as joined another band and been given an old instrument which doesn't smell too good!

Gary Marshall

4BR Reply:
Smelly instruments eh? We've been in a few bandrooms where the hygiene hasn't been the best - and even sat next to few players who have pen and inked a bit, but most players look after their tools of their trade don't they? (Sounds a bit like a Carry On film there if you're not careful). Don't know if there have been any studies, but we don't think it would endear yourself to your fellow players if you call in the Environmental Health Department would it? Grin and bear it and then get the Domestos out when you get home is our advice.

Why not lower the tone?
4BR:
Why don't you do more articles and features on bands in the lower sections?

You always talk about bands in the championship section and being from a fourth section band I would rather here more about the lower sections if that's possible?

Dave Powell

4BR Reply:
We would love to be able to do more mate, but it is a question of resources at 4BR - (our usual moan about us being part time etc). We do think however that 4BR provides a pretty good service for the lower sections. We give coverage for all sections with stats and information about each of the competing bands at the Area Championships, we covered the Lower Section National Finals in full (and listened to all the bands), Pontins and have sent someone to cover other contests to report for us - add some articles and features and we think our coverage stands comparison at least with the full time magazines. We'll keep trying though.....

Anyone seen Murphy?
Hello,

I have been looking for a record with The Yorkshire Imperial Band
soloist M. Murphy. You have a review at this url:
http://www.4barsrest.com/articles/art050.asp#1

Is it possible to buy this album on CD or on LP.

Hope You can help

Greetings from
Aage Moeller-Pedersen
Kildevej 15
9800 Hjoerring
Denmark
tubaaage@hotmail.com

4BR Reply:
Can anyone out there help? The record is entitled "Concerto" and was released by the then Yorkshire Imperial Metals Band in 1982 with Maurice Murphy as soloist playing the Ernest Tomlinson "Cornet Concerto" (amazingly brilliant it must be said) and the rarely heard and quite beautiful "Mattheson's Air" arranged by Gilbert Vinter. It was released on the Polyphonic label number PRL 015. Let Aage know direct if you can help.

Ballet for Nicola...
I'm after a CD featuring Ballet for band, but don't have time to look through the contents of each cd on your list. Can you help, or do you know of a
cd which features this track?

Nicola Hughes

4BR Reply:
It's not on any we've got. Can anyone help?


Thank You
Thanks very much for your review of 'Celebration' by Croydon SA Band.

It makes all the hard work worthwhile when it receives good reviews from people such as yourselves.

Thanks again,
Ian Wilson
Croydon & ISB

4BR Reply:

It was a pleasure to review the CD Ian. Lots of top quality playing and a very nice selection of music to listen to. We think we tell it as it is, so congratulations. Lets hope it results in plenty of sales for you (and us of course!!)

What's our ranking?
Dear 4BR,
Just discovered 4barsrest.com - what a super website!

I was having a look at your rankings and just wondered if the Friary Guildford band feature somewhere below the top 75 (having just won the Swindon festival of Brass (new contest) and Crawley for the second year on the trot).

Cheers
Keith
MD Friary Band

4BR Reply:
Thanks for the kind words Keith. We are hoping to provide a top 100 Rankings list in the near future, so you will have to wait until then we're afraid to find out if your band are there or thereabouts. Congratulations on the recent successes though - you can't be too far off of you keep this form up.

Shunned by Classic FM
I listen to the Classic FM radio station quite a lot. I like most of the music....apart from some of the depressing stuff. A couple of years ago I wrote to them suggesting they might please thousands of listeners by playing a brass band track occasionally. I had in mind the nice flugel duet "Claire De Lune" played by Stan Lippeatt and Matthew Challender on Stan's CD "Friends". Classic FM did reply stating that it was not their policy to play brass bands and they had no intention of altering this in the future. So I find it rather amusing these days to frequently hear them play "Padstowe Lifeboat" by Grimethorpe, conducted by Sir Malcolm Arnold (with the brilliant soprano playing). Surprise, surprise, it has now got into their top 100 of most requested items ! Now if only the folk who run the banding movement devoted their efforts to promoting bands......instead of the obsession for contesting ! Here is a sobering thought. My Sunday Times sports section each week gives the results of minor soccer matches....maybe watched by a crowd of about 50, a few dogs and some sheep ! But no daily papers ever print the results of the National, the Open, or The Masters, etc. Even local papers ignore coverage of say a band association annual rally. Ever wondered why ? I know the old arguments about the value of contests........but please tell me how the country's salvation army bands maintain their standards ! David Williams.

Most enjoyable
I was at Dobcross for the Whit Friday marches - most enjoyable. Brighouse did no more than I expected them to do by winning but the performance that caught my ear was Navigation Brass. Great solo Cornet - who was he? I did'nt recognise him from any previous events I had attended. Superb player - lovely sound!

Mike Britton

BBC ignore us
Having watched the Golden Jubilee celebrations this weekend on television I was hoping to actually see some of the bands who were there and as per bloody usual the BBC completely ignored us and we were also left out of the other parades as far as I could see. Maybe now is the time that we all got together and bombarded the broadcasting companies of the UK and made a stand for ourselves. I will certainly organise it if the are enough interested. Please let me know what you think

David

4BR Reply:
I didn't see much of it David but I did get a glimpse of Elgar Howarth conducting his new fanfare at Temple Bar on the News later in the day (I was in the Pub in the day!).

We don't exactly know what bands actually took part so can't really say much.

Gott to thank you
Thanks for the review [of Mumbo Jumbo]. It was a real buzz for Russell and Ransome to do the album. Not all of the material would have been my choice but it was an honour for me. I thought the review was a blast, very entertaining and observant. The playing of the band was great and I hope many will enjoy it. Thanks again for the review. I hope to be in the UK over Christmas and would like to catch up with a few friends.

Barrie Gott

Bored bored bored...
My band (Raunds Temperance) were once again lucky enough to qualify for the finals, and once again I am very dissapointed with the finals test piece. Whilst it is a very musical piece, I do not think it tests the whole band, ( as surely a finals test piece should. ) I play sop with the band and on our 1st run through of the piece, I found myself twiddling my thumbs, apart from about 3 bars in the 1st mvmt, and half a dozen bars or so in the last mvmt, I might as well be playing on the front row, or rep. And from what our flugel player has told me the flugel part is much the same. (Did the band that Goff Richards wrote this for not have a sop or flugel player ?? Or did he forget about us and add these parts as an afterthought ?) I have always enjoyed Mr Richards's concert pieces, but I am not looking forward to playing this piece on stage already I am bored with it. (And we have not really started working on it yet !!!)

Lee Rogers

Very special mutes...
I have to say how dissapointed I am in your coverage of the use of our 'special' mutes at the Masters. For a site that obviously prides itself on factual accuracy I can't believe you wouldn't have researched the topic further before publishing. The mutes did not use felt (as if!). We used contract quality Wilton, shaped and placed so that both ergonomic and accoustic attributes were optimal. These were fixed to the mutes using industrial strength rubber tape. Unfortunately I can't go into any more detail here as we propose to patent the mutes as we're sure there will be a massive worldwide demand. What I can share with you though is that the carpet was weaved in a place just north of Leeds called Kirkby OVERBLOW. What could be more fitting!

Phil Green

4BR Reply:
Valerie Singleton and John Noakes would have been proud!

So frustrating!!
Having just returned from an entertainments contest I feel that I must vent my feelings about adjudication. It seems that more and more, contesting is not about playing well, but guessing what the adjudicator wants. We all listen with bated breath when the adjudicator lets us know what he (or she) expects either at the draw or before the results. That's great and very informative but IT'S TOO LATE by then. Surely when we operate in a system which often allows one man's (or woman's) opinion to reign supreme then we ought to know what his expectations are in advance. How many times have we sat and listened at the results and thought IF ONLY I'D HAVE KNOWN!!!! People invest there valuable time and money into contesting, only to find that they have been barking up the wrong tree. It would not take that much effort to provide a short brief from the adjudicator amongst the reams of instructions that we receive before a contest. The importance of this is magnified at entertainments contests. As a conductor I have the task of picking the programme. Last time out I was told (at the results) that the music was too easy, dancing around the stage was no good if the musical content was not 'up to a championship section standard'. Today I was told (at the results) to play easier music and concentrate on choreography. A prize winning band in the section could be accused of playing 'school band' music with great choreography. I do not mind adhering to the wishes of either of the adjudicators in question and I will know what they want in the future!! (and I am not belittling the above mentioned prize winners who guessed right!!) Surely, at a time when the movement is in decline and we see more and more withdrawals at every contest, the time has come to offer an adjudicators brief so that weeks of rehearsal are not wasted!! PLEASE! It is so frustrating!!

David Barringer, MD Alder Valley Brass

Triggers fitted...
Someone in your columns was asking about having a trigger fitted to their euph. Have a word with Jerry Birch at Swaffham Music, Swaffham, Norfolk. He fitted a trigger to my wife's Sovereign horn, and the result looked like original equipment. Excellent!

Cry for help...
A cry for help from the southern hemisphere. Wodonga Brass (Victoria, Australia) are competing in the Victorian State Title competition to be held in August and we are having trouble locating a recording of one of our pieces. We have chosen "My Soul there is a Country" for our Hymn for the competition and we are having a hell of a time trying to find a recording of it. If anyone knows where we can obtain a copy of this hymn we would really appreciate some help. In case anyone is interested, the D Grade (our grade) test piece for this year, is The Comber Suite. We only received the piece last week and it seems like quite an enjoyable test. If anyone has played this particular test piece and has any hints, suggestions or tips, we'd love to hear about them. Wodonga Brass has run 2nd for the last two years at the state titles and we are really looking forward to giving this years competition a real shake up, so any inside information would go a long way. We are also playing Ruby Tuesday as our entertainment piece and Cross of Honour for our March. If anyone has any details they would like to send they can reach me on carylcook@greenfreight.com.au

Cheers Caryl Cook - Wodonga Brass

Spectacular performance
Having just returned from a slightly disappointing weekend at Cambridge, I feel I must write and ask a favour from you chaps at 4BR. When you compile the pre contest coverage of any future contest, please can you NOT put Fairey's as your favourite for top spot, as this is beginning to become as curse!!! Not only did you predict us to win the NW Area, which we finished 2nd, but now a repeat prediction at the Masters has again condemned us to runners up spot!!

On a serious note, I thought Morgan's performance was nothing short of spectacular and it was a wonderful experience stood on stage at the back of the band listening to him, his award was thoroughly deserved, 4BR for adjudicators at the Open I say!!! Keep up the good work guys.

Pete Shaw, Repiano, Williams Fairey Band

Unfair comment...
I thought your comment : "So less travelling for some and more for others (just about everyone else come to think of it)." was a little unfair. Sad as I am I checked the travelling distances for the qualified bands for this year's First Section Finals in Torquay and then compared them to travelling distance to Dundee. Obviously these bands will not be at Dundee next year but I thought it the best way to do a comparison. The results I found were indeed quite interesting : Of 16 bands that I checked 10 are closer to Torquay and 6 closer to Dundee. In addition the average travelling distance of the 16 bands is only 67 miles more to Dundee than it is to Torquay. One further observation I made was that the furthest band from Torquay this year are Clackmannan at 493 miles and the furthest from Dundee would be St. Austell at 602 miles. If, however UDI Brass from Aberdeen had qualified for Torquay this year then their travelling distance would be in excess of 620 miles. I think it's a bit rich to complain about going to Dundee as Scottish bands every year have a substantial distance to travel wherever the Finals are held and next year will be the first time since the lower sections went on the road that "Southern" bands will have a significant distance to make the finals. By all means report the news as is needed but please take care not to put unfair bias upon it.

Steve Nicoll Edinburgh

Thanks for the memory
As a youngster, playing in what was probably one of my first Scottish Championships, I remember the more senior members of the band saying to me ".. make sure your at the concert after the results laddie...". After questioning them I was told Derek Garside and the CWS ( Manchester ) band were playing. To be honest it didn't mean anything, but I went and as a young cornet player I to this day can remember that night. The music that was played that evening, has faded long ago with the exception of the finale being "Night on a Bear Mountain" and the numerous solos played by Mr Garside...I just remember the wonderful tone and technique. At a later time my cornet teacher at the time brought out some old recordings of Mr. Garside and to say the least was staggered at the playing. I recall looking at my cornet as the recordings played in the background and thinking " if all cornets players have to play like that..then I'm kidding myself !! ". But I stuck at it and enjoyed playing to the best of my abilities for many years. Of course, I realised that players with that gift , as with any other instrument, are very rare and when the opportunity comes along to hear them, they should be cherished . My memories of him may be a small inconsequential part in his illustrious career, but if he should read this, thanks for the memory.

Alan, Las Vegas, Nevada

Deutschland, Deutschland...
Reference my advertisement for an exchange visit to Germany

I'm sorry I haven't answered any replies yet but I've just moved house and "Deutsche Telekom" were up to their usual standard and left me without a phone for about three weeks. If anyone has replyed in that time could you please reply again, those who replyed before will be hearing from me in the next few days.

For anyone who is interested the address is johnbeardy@aol.com

John Beardsworth

Awful crying shame
It's quite upsetting when bandsmen continue to "slag off" other bands performances even though they are not in the hall to experience the event themselves. When Cwmaman took the stage on Saturday there was only a small crowd that heard our performance (probably because we are not a well known band). For some people to then to describe our performance as "awful" is a "Crying Shame" and not a Grand Shame. Whereas I can sympathize with Wingates, the result speaks for itself and so please don't try to take our happiest ever moment away from Cwmaman Band. The band for the past 16 years have come from the fourth section to where it is now. This has been achieved with three rehearsals a week, continuous recruitment and the support of a local mining institute and colliery. We have bloody worked hard for our success and it's taken a long time to get there. Again I reply from my personal views and not from Cwmaman Band.

Tim Malpas, Cwmaman Band

4BR Reply:
There will always be people at any contest who don't think the winning band deserved to take the top spot - its been the case since contests begun we think, but it does irk when the people who have a go are usually the same people who frequent the bars and pubs and not the concert hall during a contest. We are lucky at 4BR to know exactly how hard you and the band have worked over the past few years to achieve what you have so don't be put off by a few comments you hear from disgruntled losers. Just remember - you'll be at the Open in September and that cannot be changed.

Composers thoughts...
Thankyou very much for your excellent write-up on the European composers competition. I think your article was probably the best out all that I read (you were the only one to get the title of my piece, in fact the bandsman published an apology to me for getting it wrong: I had a lot of problems with Benjamin Britten's estate trying to sort out the title). Anyway thanks a lot mate, I will keep you up to speed with anything that happens with my compositions. Keep up the good work on what is without doubt one of the very best brass band magazines (on or off-line) at the moment.

Simon Dobson

4BR Reply:
Thanks Simon for the kind comments and congratulations once again for the fine achievement. Will the piece now be published so that it can be played and enjoyed by many more people? We hope you use the prize money wisely and enjoy it and we look forward to hearing many more compositions from you in the future.

Ballet for Nicola...
I'm after a CD featuring Ballet for band, but don't have time to look through the contents of each cd on your list. Can you help, or do you know of a cd which features this track?

Nicola Hughes

4BR Reply:
It's not on any we've got. Can anyone help?

Band revival...
In a last forlorn hope of reviving sort of band for my home town I have done a little feature on my website: www.colwyn1.freeserve.co.uk with an old pic. of some youngsters from 30 years' ago, leading to another couple of pages and text......and more pics. They might be a bit slow down-loading first time, and I hasten to add that I did not take the pics. of the band in the 19th century ! Thought you might be interested. Do you think the internet can be of any use for this purpose?. I have asked councillors, etc. to have a look, even the present Lord Colwyn (in the House of Lords) who is a trumpet player himself with his own Lord Colwyn Band. Maybe a local paper might take up the idea, as there are plans to build two bandstands in the resort......which has NO band ........except, of course Colwyn Brass (my colleague and I). Keep up the good work. Its very interesting.......maybe one day you will be reporting on a Colwyn Band in the "Open" ! Some hope. Best wishes. Dave Williams.

Besson 3 Star Cornet mouthpiece
As the team have been kind enough to post for me before, I am searching very hard for a Besson 3*** or 3 Star (not sure how it is written on the mouthpiece) Bb Cornet mouthpiece - the very same that Jim Shepherd plays on. I have been in contact with Boosey's regarding the Besson mouthpiece on a number of occasions now and nobody seems to know anything about it nor do they seem interested. I am aware that they have had a fire in the past and subsequently a number of records were lost. After speaking to Jim himself I estimate that the mouthpiece must have been manufactured around the 1940's/50's. I can't help being surprised that nobody seems to know when it was made or anything about the mouthpiece. When I first started searching I was hoping they might have regional designs or drawings for the mouthpiece that I could have copied and recreated - I think they seemed to think the idea was mad. Has anybody else found this to be the case looking for old brass related items. If anybody has any thoughts on where to find the 3 Star I would be grateful for any help! Thanks, stevensymonds@barnardcastleband.co.uk

Farcical results?
After the farcical results of blackpool i think the brass band world needs a radical rethink of its adjucation policy. Lets be honest - wingates coming last !!!!!!!!! anybody else think there is a bit of 'tit for tat' going on - Dyke vs Gourlay !!!!!!!!

The very fact you have relations adjudicating the same contest should not be allowed, how on this planet can that be fair. They both will probably have the same views on playing so there might have well been 1 person in the box. Surely the idea of two persons in the box is to give differing opinions to attain a winner with no favouritism.

I would also like to ask why both of the adjudicators of the Grand Shield were seen entering the hall with/using Mobile Phones. I am not suggesting that they were used but a mobile on 'silent' can be used for text messages? You might aswell give the adjudicator a copy of the draw. Mobiles should be switched off at all times, this should apply to both audience, bandsmen and officials.

I would also like to put forward a suggestion with regards to the choosing of adjudicators. As bands have a draw then why not adjudicators. The judges of each section are known way in advance, this creates another opportunity for communication between bands and adjudicators. With important contests such as these would it not fairer that the adjudicators should have a draw to see which section they are to judge, this done before the the band draw and this only announced to the audience and bands at the start of the section. This suggestion would surely help to ensure the fairness of the results and also perhaps bring back the bandsmen confidence in fair adjudication. 'Ye old way' is not suitable any more, its time for change.

S. M. Rogers (T. Rigger)

4BR Reply:
Can't help but thinking though that you've been watching too many episodes of the "X Files" - all these conspiracy theories eh?

Top heavy stuff...
With reference to the request for information about heavy top mouthpieces, I have a 4AL trombone heavy top mouthpiece. However, it was bought about 8 years ago, and I haven't seen anymore since then. It was also the only one available at the shop where I bought it, which has since closed down. I think they only made a few, just to see how they were received by the playing public, and obviously, they didn't sell too well... I tried it for a bit, whilst I was studying at University, but decided after about 3 months to go back to the standard 4AL Wick. It didn't make that much difference to the sound I produced, and I actually think the standard one was better for me. I still have the heavy top mouthpiece if anyone wants to buy it off me. I have since changed onto bass trombone so now I have to use a bucket as a mouthpiece instead!

Charmian Gott. PHG Lindley Band.

Silly names
Regarding Ian Wilcox's recent comment about silly band names, I also played for Kippax and seem to remember that the name was even more convoluted than he recalls. It was called the 'Kippax Allerton Bywater National Workshops National Union of Mineworkers Brass Band'. How I wished I played for the Newcastle Brown Ale Band. I now play for a band with an even more silly name; 'Maitland City Brass Band'. Maitland is a city just north of Sydney with a population of....errr ...421.

Paul Stevenson

Famous pants predictions
Me thinketh your post match analysis has gone slightly awry in favour of your famous predictions. Apparantly you predicted ourselves to come 14th after the show was over but before it started we were predicted to win. I know this is only a minor mistake(14 places!) and I'm pedantic but this makes your now famous pants predictions better than they actually are. Have you got yourself a spin doctor? If you start getting your predictions correct how will we ever talk about the now legendary 'kiss of death'? Please keep your predictions as rubbish as ever and start putting us last please. Can you ask the organisers if next year we could have special dispensation to play in the big hall. Or can we enter with a 12 piece?

Bill, Bass Trom Pennine Brass

4BR Reply:
On paper we thought you were going to be strong challengers and therefore put you as predicted winners before the contest. However after you played we were disappointed and placed you well down the field - as did the adjudicators.

It's good to know our 'famous pants predictions' are being talked about though.

The Untouchables...
I read the reactions with much interest, although I am disappointed with 4barsrest reaction me being ridiculous. Nice to see how you threat readers. 4BR is and has the right to "comment" Maurice Andre, while he is indeed accepted as maybe the greatest of all times. But apparentely some are more equal then others, and it is forbidden to "touch" e.g. Dyke.

If one can not hear the difference between misters McCann, Daws, Porthouse, Ben Godfrey, ... and on the other hand, some of the current "cornet" playing, then something is really really wrong. Maybe 4BR should not be afraid to ask the mentioned people once how they feel about the current "cornet" playing.

Dirk De Wolf

4BR Reply:
Thanks for your reply. We don't mind any type of comment really - as long as it isn't libellous to anyone, but we do believe you were way off target with your remarks. Still we are all entitled to our opinions.

As for "untouchables" - we don't believe that 4BR can be accused of not giving thoughtful criticism to any band - we haven't any favourites at all and that would apply to any band from the bottom of the Fourth Section to the top of the European Championships. We stand by what we say and hopefully you do to. We get plenty of well thought out (and plenty of not so well thought out) criticisms of what we do, so if you wish to air an opinion then don't be surprised if others don't agree with you.

A bunch of girls...
Thank you for your interest in Besses Boy's Band as expresses in your report on the Buxton Band Festival dated May 8th 2002. We are extremely pleased that the band's recent consistency has come to your attention and wonder if we could use your query about girls being in the band to answer the larger audience who are asking the same thing. Besses Boy's Band is, as far as we know, the oldest youth band in the country and possibly the world The band embraced equal opportunities many years ago and has actively encouraged all young people to become involved in music making. With the introduction of girls into the band the question of our name obviously came up for discussion. It was agreed, with a unanimous vote from the girls, that the historic name of the band should be maintained. Besses Boy's currently has eight girls playing in the main band and we are proud to have girls holding the positions of principle Cornet and principle Horn. Our training band has an equal number of boys and girls. We are currently preparing for our 60th anniversary and would ask that any old boys (or girls) should contact us via our website: www.bessesboysband.com

We look forward to welcoming many more young people into the pleasure of brass band music making, but we will continue with our proud traditions and continue to be Besses Boy's Band. We think that "Besses Boys and a varying number of Girls Band" does not sound right - we hope you would agree. Finally may I point out two factual error: Firstly, Besses Boy's Band was draw first at Buxton not fifth and secondly, it was Besses Boy's Band that won the Columb McShane Shield for Best Bass Section and not Rivington and Adlington as reported. Barry Flint

A big thank you...
Greetings from the Great South Land. I would like to thank you folk for the immense effort you obviously put into making your website the most current and informative available. As immediate family of Dr David King (he is my younger brother), it is great to logon and get a more in-depth analysis of the brass band goings-on in the your part of the world. As our parents do not have direct access to Internet services, it is tremendous that I can logon and get them the latest on what is happening. As you would imagine, they are particularly proud of what David has achieved with respect to banding. Likewise, Andrew their grandson is making very proud with his amazing achievements. It was a great thrill for them to witness first-hand Andrew winning the Ern Keller Trophy in Sydney recently. Again congratulations on you site, and keep up the good work

Peter King

4BR Reply:
Thanks Peter, Nice to hear from you and thanks for the comments. Hope you continue to enjoy the site and also read about further success for your younger sibling and nephew in the years to come from us.

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