Comments ~ 2006: March (Regionals Part 2)

Sweet 17; Singing conductors; High pitch; BAYV superemacy; Knowing what you write and much more as we finally come to an end of the Regional Championships...

Sweet 17 it is...

Subsequent to my previous email on this matter (Scottish Co-op wins at Regional Championships) I have done some research and discovered that the Scottish Championships and the regional qualifiers were staged separately for a number of years following the inception of the regional qualifying events in 1945.

According to the SBBA historian the events did not merge until sometime in the late 50's (circa 1957/1958).

Counting back using this date would indeed give 17 "regional" wins since 1957; which ties in neatly with the approximate year that the events were merged. I hope this new information assists you in clearing up the confusion. Of course, in Scotland we never talk of the "regional qualifier". To bands up here it is the Scottish Championships that are of paramount importance so that is the measure we use.

John Martin
Webmaster
SBBA

The singing conductor

I've read with interest the comments by the secretary of Brass Sounds Inverclyde regarding, firstly, the closing chord of the opening movement of Anglian Dances, and secondly, the alleged "singing".

The F sharp in the blazing E major chord is meant to be there; what isn't is a mispitched E coming out as a C natural, as I heard one band play at Motherwell, which would be, and was, rather discordant. Regarding the singing; Colin Hardy and myself both heard it, as clear as day! We immediately looked at each other when it happened. I'm sorry if mentioning it in the remarks upset anyone, and perhaps we shouldn't have, but we can only judge what we hear! 

Alan Fernie

The Brighouse experience

Last night I had my first experience of a brass band concert in Huddersfield Town Hall. I was initially a bit cautious about going to such a concert, however I was surprised by the variety of pieces performed and the enjoyment that was demonstrated on the faces of the players, who were clearly in the spirit of the birthday event.

After the opening march, a signature tune of the band, so my friend Alf said, I commented that the sound was like nothing I'd heard. I have never been one for the brass band, preferring the orchestral scene, but what I heard and saw last night has opened my eyes to a new form of music and more importantly entertainment. The playing was fabulous, the commitment of the players to perform pieces that were
undoubtedly very hard, especially that contest piece, Carnival Overture, which wasn't to my taste but was presented with 110% of effort by both band and conductor. One of the highlights of the evening for me was the appearance of a Waltz, which is a feature of my record collection but nice to hear live.

It was at the request of my friend that I attended this concert and have no qualms about going to their next concert in the town hall later in the year. The whole event was filled with joy from beginning to end, with Mr James Gourlay filling the gaps with some dare I say, Scottish humour, although I was slightly baffled with the references to another small band from Queensbury, which Alf again later explained to me.

One final observation that I made was the relatively young age of the band, it is nice to hear and see with so much bad press these days. Good on the Brighouse band, and thank you to them, James Gourlay and Derek Broadbent for an enjoyable and up lifting experience.

David Lawrence

Anyone know something about Joseph Kemp?

Read Parish Council in the Ribble Valley is preparing a booklet on a village benefactor, Joseph Kemp.   He provided instruments for the Read and Simonstone Silver Band, which, we understand, were successful locally and at the Crystal Palace Small Village Band Competition in the 1920's. 

It would be appreciated if you could advise us where to locate some information concerning both the band and the Championships.    We note from your web-site mention of the band in the Open Championship of 1923.   Would this be the final, Read and Simonstone having qualified in an earlier class?
 
Sheila Sturrock
Clerk to Read Parish Council

4BR Reply:
We have searched through the records Sheila. In 1922 the band came 5th in the Junior Cup Contest conducted by W. Pollard and the following year they came 3rd in the May Crystal Palace Contest also conducted by W. Pollard which qualified them for the July Contest where they came 5th in the Grand Shield conducted again by W. Pollard playing 'Bohemian Girl' by Balfe. After that they disappeared.

Looking for the high pitch

 
My name is Jim Sutherland and I've just been awarded the Creative Scotland award to create a European parading orchestra.

I am working in old pitch, which is a quarter tone sharp to concert. I am including a Semana santa band from Spain, a bagpipe band from Scotland and a Bombard section form Brittany.
 
I am looking for other bands who still work or are able to work at this old high pitch  to include in this 'orchestra'. Do you know of any?
 
Jim Sutherland 
www.jimsutherland.uk.com
www.pandrop.com 

The luxury of knowing the results before you write?

In respect to the Championship Section retrospective from the North West and Malcolm Wood's retrospective. i.e. he has the luxury of knowing the results before he writes the article.
 
Isn't it funny how his article is in total agreement with the results? The praise in his remarks diminishes as he reaches the lower placed bands. Wingates were clear fourth, Dobcross 5th, Freckleton, ebbing away as we get to Besses etc etc....
 
'Mr.Chisolm' writes in support of Malcolm as follows: "First of all, let's remember that Besses actually came last in this contest - something both the adjudicator and Malcolm agree on."
 
Of course they agree, he knew the results before he wrote the article. It's easy, I could do that!.
 
Malcolm was sat on the 2nd row from the front about three seats to my right and to the extreme right of the stage behind the trombones when I saw him. Not the best place to sit and judge a competition. All you can hear is cornets! The adjudicator was on the upper tier and in a central position so you would expect a few differences of opinion, but no, Malcolm got it spot on!
 
I didn't think Besses were particularly good but they certainly weren't the worst band I heard that day.
 
Keep up the good work Malcolm!

Steven Walker

4BR Reply:
Malcolm replies as follows: In fact in the Opera House you can only sit in front of the bands as you know, and I was sat a few rows from the front but not to the extreme right more in the middle - if I was supposedly sat near this gentleman than he doesn't know me or hasn't got a clue where I was sat.  If I could go upstairs where the adjudicator was I would.  In Torquay, I was sat two rows in front of the box so as to hear what the judges heard. 

BAYV supremacy

I find your opening thoughts about BAYV's supremacy and the 'not so healthy' situation in Welsh banding rather unfair to the other championship section bands in Wales.

Lets not take anything away from BAYV and Dr Childs - they are one of the best brass bands in the world and deservedly so for all the work they put in to their performances. Not forgetting the excellent work they do in workshops for young people, promoting welsh music and commissioning new music for the brass band movement. They are excellent ambassadors for welsh music and Wales.

But you are forgetting one thing in your assessment - sponsorship! BAYV (the company) promote many things in the Rhondda valley and we must applaud them for doing so. BAYV band are fortunate enough to be beneficiaries of this generous company and this must be a significant attraction for players who want to make music with one of the best bands. The level of sponsorship must also be taken into consideration - a £100 cheque from your corner shop couldn't really be classed as significant sponsorship, but a 4 or 5 figure sum would obviously fit the bill.

Society is changing and, without going into too much detail, people are less inclined to get passionately involved in something without some sort of financial incentive or remuneration. Some sort of expenses system in place can only be a major factor when a good player decides to play with a band. It's obviously not the only factor but it is an important one.

If money is plentiful, as is the case with sponsorship, then these expense systems can be set up quite easily. Then simple logic applies - handpick the best players and attract them into your band.

I would like to bet that the likes of Tredegar, Burry Port, BTM, Parc and Dare, Beaumaris etc ... cannot easily afford these expenditures. But one thing I am sure they all do and that is they work VERY hard to produce performances of note.

In this day and age, there is no level playing field between sponsored and non-sponsored outfits: the sponsored bands are lucky, work hard and have to 'get results' in order to please their benefactors; the non-sponsored bands have to pull all the stops out in order to keep their players and also work incredibly hard to maintain standards.

Perhaps there should be a national competition for non-sponsored brass bands - any thoughts?

David Batte

Toning down?

Given the recent successful award of damages to a chat room user who was the victim of scurrilous comments from another contributor, will some of the more colourful descriptions awarded adjudicators, conductors and even 4barsrest reporters now be toned down?

Some of the recent comments have resembled ill-mannered graffiti on toilet walls rather than a balanced look at someone else's opinion. If it's true that 'every generation gets the music it deserves' can we really be surprised that Emails conversely have sunk to such a low level given the glorification of obscenity and mediocrity in today's headline driven society.

Have we really sunk to such a paucity of mind and intellect that no one is allowed an opinion of their own without running the risk of abuse?

Jim Wright
Rotherham

4BR Reply:
We can assure everyone Jim, that 4BR will always give its opinion - strong, truthful and without bias.

Who was the cheat in Wales then?

Big congrats to Northop, seems they have finally pulled their socks up. Getting Tom back in was a very wise move!

I had to laugh at your comments about the soprano brown trouser moment, According to yourselves there were 4 crackers of a top c 3 near misses and one Brilliant cheat!!!!! I wonder who that was??? mmmmmmmm?

A huge 'GOOD LUCK' to all the qualifying Welsh bands! Go do us proud in Harrogate

Rachael Morris
Wrexham Brass (NEWI)

4BR Reply:
We wonder indeed Rachael...

Keep up the good work

Thank you for all the work you do on bringing all the latest news and events from the Brass Band world, I am a regular reader and find your reviews and contest reports very interesting. I also enjoy the fact that you voice your opinions and feel that this adds to the depth of the reporting.

The Brass Band world is better of for having such a wealth of information and detailed analysis at its fingertips. Keep up the excellent work.
 
Simon Farmer
Aylesbury

Welsh confusion

I'm a little confused as to your comments in the Welsh area retrospectives where you say at the end of Buy As You View's report " ....... but perhaps subconsciously the competitive edge had been dulled by the fact that the band had little to play for except pride (there was no European qualification place up for grabs either for the winners)".

So given that, can it be taken that the qualification criteria for the band representing Wales has changed? This would be a little unfair on Burry Port band "if" Buy As You View were to succeed and lift the top prize in Belfast.

Under the "old" qualification criteria they would qualify for Birmingham 2007 as they were second last weekend in the Welsh area at Swansea, (and deservedly so by their performance off No.1).

David Smith.

4BR Reply:
We understand that the situation with the regards to qualification for 2007 will be sorted out after this year's European contest.

How many bands can one man conduct?

I know that conductor's are permitted to conduct more than 1 band overall in a contest but is there any rule prohibiting them from doing so in the same section?

Patrick Connolly

4BR Reply:
No Patrick - If they have the time and the talent then they can conduct as many as they like - just look what the likes of William Rimmer and Mr Halliwell used to do all those years ago!

The Victors Return anyone?

I'm looking for some background of the Quick march "the Victors Return" from William Rimmer.

All I know is he wrote this march in a series when he was music editor for Wright & Round between 1913...1920's. Is there a song included or is it just a fantasy composition? Is there any background (event, sensation or dedication)?

I would appreciate if you could send an answer even you have no positive answer.

Thomas

4BR Reply:
Can anyone help? We remember a march we think was called 'The Rovers Return' which was played on a television programme that featured John Noakes a few years ago - or was that something totally different. Any help appreciated folks!

No more quiz

I was very disappointed to read that you are no longer going to be doing the monthly quiz anymore. I would just like to say I had great fun on my lunch hours trying to find the answers to your questions. Unfortunately I was never a winner (I would have liked two free CD's - gutted).

I was just wondering why 4barsrest have decided to call it a day on what I like to think of "Who wants to be a millionaire for Brass Bands"?? Will you be bringing it back again in the future?? 
 
Andy Cooper

4BR Reply:
We will bring it back if someone else can provide us with some new questions! We have trawled through hundreds and hundreds so far, so if there is anyone who wishes to do a quiz with new questions then for us please get in touch.

Don't stand for timid attitudes!
 
There has always been a deeply ingrained idea in the minds of bandsmen that their activities should be provided and supported without any general commitment from bandsmen themselves.  The National Championships, run since its inception by private concerns, is a good example.

Judging by your recent correspondence about the area contests, this idea also appears to colour bandsmen's understanding of the role of a free press in society.  A free press is there to encourage, certainly; but also to criticise and hold to account those people and groups who form the focus of their interest.

Some of your readers seem to feel that they are entitled to demand that you concentrate principally on the 'encouragement' while soft pedalling on other responsibilities.  That 4BR makes no charge for its service does not alter the fact that this argument ought to be rejected by all responsible editors on principle. Changes to editorial policy may legitimately be made for legal or commercial reasons.  When editorial policy is influenced for other reasons - because it upsets people, for example - editorial integrity is diminished. 

The timid attitude of many editors over the recent international story concerning cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed demonstrates the point well, I think.  On that occasion, free speech was stifled.

The flip side of a free press able to speak its mind is the free individual, able to choose what he/she does or does not read.  Actors and politicians are famous for never reading the newspapers (or so they claim!), in order to avoid reading unpalatable reviews and articles. 

Bandsmen unable to stomach 4BR's scribblings should do themselves a favour and follow suit.  As someone pointed out earlier, if you want to know what's going on in the brass band world, there are alternatives to this website which are far more likely to provide 'encouragement' untainted by any unpleasant opinions or truths.

Alec Gallagher
London NW9

Entertainments has improved us

I've just read your latest set of reader's comments, and I was very impressed by Peter Nutt of Weston Brass. I certainly felt that this year we would struggle with ‘Entertainments', and last year ‘Tam O Shanter's Ride' appeared a bit much for the third section.

However, echoing Peter's point, our band put in a huge amount of work on both pieces and despite finishing 7th for the third year on the trot (!) we feel that the band has benefited from being challenged in this way. Our young soprano player in particular has improved immensely and gave a great performance last week.
 
Please keep up the good work. It is nice for us smaller bands to read a little a bit about ourselves in the retrospectives, and your comments as far as I can see are always fair.
 
George Annan (Jnr)
Perthshire Brass

Reply to a disillusioned bandsman

I'd like to reply on a positive note to the "disillusioned bandsperson".

I'd have to agree that there is far to much energy spent in propelling "our stars" on to a shrinking pedestal. It's a great analogy! We really should be thinking about our audience rather than self adulation...

However, there is good news! Having turned out to the London & SE areas last Sunday, it was a revelation. With sponsorship conspicuous by its absence, and 2 bands with an average age of 25 (ish) it was a world away from the story told by Mr Roylance... I know Alliance and Zone One have a particular line of recruitment but the members are genuinely attracted by the sporting element of brass band contests and it's got to be a good thing to have them adding to the mix on stage.

I can report that the traditional, playing for enjoyment with a distinct lack of band cheque book, band is alive and well in London & SE.....

On an unrelated topic: Having never listened to a contest without being involved, it was interesting to me how little I cared about the result. The fact that a performance I enjoyed came last made no impact on that enjoyment.

Also, Well done Staines.

Martin Britt
Sop, Desford

A question of dynamics
 
On the referenced subject (bands playing quietly) this is very close to my heart.  It is so logical that as entirely brass ensembles without the variation in timbre that strings and woodwind bring, we have to make the music exciting with the liberal use of dynamics.  The use of mutes, trills, tremolos and other frills are boring if over used.
 
Ask the members of Clevedon – there is not a rehearsal goes by that I'm not nagging them about dynamics and balance, looking for that pyramid of sound.  Basses loudest, tenor voices 10% quieter, alto voices 10% quieter than the tenors and top cornets the quietest.
 
I'm sure many readers would be shocked by this but I learned it from a workshop with Steve Sykes (thank you Steve).  It works!  In a hymn tune I sometimes tell the 2nd/3rd cornets to play f to the solo cornet line p, and guess what?  The balance is lovely.
 
I would like to suggest that we start a consumer campaign (it worked for real ale!) the campaign for real dynamics!  It might take a generation but we'll get more musical performances as a result and less fuel for the noise abatement lobby that we've seen trying to close down bands rehearsing.
 
Keep up the good work but watch the typos! 
  
Stephen Howard
Clevedon Brass - MD

We woz robbed...

Has anyone else noticed how, following the regionals, the Your Comments section becomes inundated with messages of the "we wuz robbed" variety, but no-one ever writes in to say that their band didn't deserve to win?
 
Still, there's always next year...............
 
Jonathan Camps
Musical Director
Hyde Band (Thoroughly deserved fifth place in West of England first section!)

In support of Malcolm Wood

I do feel the need to write and express my support for the reviewer of the North West Championsihp contest.  It seems that some pertinent points are being overlooked by those who didn't like what was written by the 4bars rest reporter.

First of all, let's remember that Besses actually came last in this contest - something both the adjudicator and Malcolm agree on. (I must say, reading Mr Berryman's comments you would think they were in with a shout to win it! How does that help you Besses?)

Secondly, as readers of 4barsrest you should know by now that if you don't play well then you're possibly in for some criticism. The fact that it was Besses on  this occasion is not 4bars rest's fault but the band who put in a poor performance on the piece of music.

Just remember - next time you play you may play better, get a prize and get some praise for you efforts - so don't blame other people for pointing out your inadequacies as performers on this occasion.

So Besses - you are a band with a proud history - you may not be in the banding elite at present but you are a band of individuals that play in a contesting band - you are not in school anymore so don't expect the PC contructive comments rubbish from the press - and that goes for all bands.

A final word to others who complain. If you didn't write in telling them how brilliant the 4bars rest reporter was when they wrote something nice about you - then don't bother writing when you don't like what they say.

Besses - take a look at what 4bars rest has written about you over the years - stop whinging and get on with it.  Channel your energies into your rehearsals and try to improve next time on the contest stage.

Doug Chisholm

Do journalists actually listen all the time?

I would like to know if these people who actually write the retrospective opinions following contests do in fact listen to all the bands (if they even attend the contest at all!) or do they merely cobble together their comments in attempt to second guess what the adjudicators remarks may say.

I feel that this can also be said of all banding publications. Lets be honest this dying hobby is patronised by too may sycophantic individuals who seem to be more concerned with what they say about certain bands/players/adjudicators for fear of upsetting them, heaven forefend that a good story may get in the way of he truth. (That is being the mutual appreciation society "click" that exists).

This comment by the way is in no way directed at yourselves but banding press & people in general. I understand that contesting is all about opinions and not facts and always will be, I am not that naive. So I purposely do not refer to any recent event.

If we are honest we all know that we are now performing to ourselves and that audiences are dwindling rapidly (contests & concerts). Even the few outside of banding who attend events seem to be more or less the same people wherever you go, and they are not getting any younger. We seem to have put so much energy into cramming as many of our so called experts and respected banding figures onto what was already an overcrowded pedestal and I fear that it wall all come crashing down around our ears before much longer. I hope so much to be proven wrong.

Over the last 8-10 years it seems that the satisfaction and gratification of playing and supporting your "own" band pales into insignificance by the now overworked cheque book which is so easily waved about. (I apologise to the "dozens/hundreds?" of genuine bands folk who like myself who still live with the romance of banding long gone and give at lot of their own time & effort simply for the love of it. I'm sure they feel the same as I do.)

I wonder what the Tax man would make of all the money which quietly slips seemingly unseen from band funds to back pockets!! It is sad to think that banding in general would die because of the lack of financial gain being offered to individuals.

I have only now felt compelled to finally write this after careful consideration as I have often felt unqualified to comment in a public arena such as this, (a bandsperson of 20 years at a reasonably high level) but I feel that I have finally woken up to the fact that perhaps I am qualified after all!

I still enjoy playing with my current (and final) Band simply because of the other members who are a great set of people and we have a fantastic MD. It is for this reason only I have decided to remain anonymous as not to implicate any of my fellow band members in my comments which are solely my own opinion. I have tried to give up banding once before but I can't find anything else to do and I did actually miss it, so I guess I will stick with it for now.

I thank you for giving me the opportunity to get this off my chest and I understand that I have ranted on a bit but I feel it needed saying.

Please continue to do what you do, I don't always agree with what you say but I defend you right to say it. 

Gary Roylance
Disillusioned Bandspeson

4BR Reply:
Thanks Gary. We can assure you we do listen to all the bands before we make our comments. We can't speak for any other publications. We are also fiercely independent - something which does get us into problems with all sorts of bands - 'big' or small, but we will try to continue with what we think we do best.  

One or two is the question

Why do some regional contests have one adjudicator and others, two? Is this a fair system?
 
Richard Robinson
Alliance Brass

4BR Reply:
We understand that the decision to employ one or two judges at Regional contests is taken by the Regional Committees, so perhaps you may be better directing your enquiry to them.

Unfair systems?

Quite a subject this time of year, but what I would like to know, and I am sure others will as well, is, why do some area contests have two adjudicator and some have only one. By this I mean some Third sections have two and some have one etc.

It seems unfair to me, as we all know you put a different judge in the box and you get a different result, by two being in the box do you get a better result? Two is supposed to be better than one.

Surely to be a fair contest all areas have to be the same. This was pointed out to me by my wife as I was looking at the area results, who by the way is not a musician and does not follow the band scene.
I am sure someone will be able to explain and I am looking forward to opinions.

Eric Leckenby 
Durham

Champions League?

Does anyone think it is possible that one day there will be an be elite Section of the top 10 brass bands in Britain similar to the Premiership and Champions League in soccer? (I was going to suggest 20 bands, but after further consideration, 10/15 seems a more likely combination.)

They would play against each other twice a year for the Open Championship and the National Championship. They would attend by invitation only and would not have to qualify through the Areas. There would be no relegation.

To qualify for membership of this "Super League" bands would have to provide verified Financial Accounts to show a suitable availability of funding for players "Expenses". The bandroom of the prospective elite band would have to be inspected to prove it was of sufficent high grade acoustic quality. (Pointless because no band outside the already established elite would pass these stern tests anyway!)

There would be a transfer window twice a year where the bands could offer financial inducements to top players in other bands to transfer over to their band. All deals would be negotiated through the players Agents, and well stuffed brown envelopes may change hands at motorway service stations.

The rest of the bands in the country could play in "The Amateur Championship Divisions" consisting of 4 lower Sections where bands would compete annually in a set number of accredited minor local/regional contests for which points would be awarded and totalled nationally every year.

The band with the highest aggregate in each Section would then be awarded the "National Amateur Wooden Spoon" Cup/Trophy/Shield/Salver/ Rosebowl and, perhaps, Luncheon Vouchers to the value of £5 per band member.

Promotion and relegation would take place between these lower Sections.

OK, so this is tongue in cheek, but it could happen!

Ian Wilkinson

4BR Reply:
You may well be something of a Nostradamus Ian. The future could well be very much like this if we are not careful!

Name calling

As you know from recent correspondence, I don't always agree with your point of view nor you with mine, but regarding the letter from anon, are F. King and A.R. Soles new people on the brass banding block?

Kerry Bowden

Getting my back up

I usually just log onto 4barsrest, have a read about what's going on in the banding world and then quietly log back off again.  However, the idiot who anonymously posted that piece of abuse to you really got my back up (by the editor's reply it looks like it's not first piece of rubbish you've had to put up with). 

This person ought to realise that the Internet is no longer an easy place to remain anonymous for long and I hope that his or her Internet details get passed on to other sites such as themouthpiece.com
 
We've all had contest results that we don't agree with Mr/Mrs/Miss anonymous, you have to learn to live with it!
 
For what it's worth, I find this site very informative and a useful place for people to air their points of view.  We are all entitled to an opinion and on this site we are invited to voice our thoughts and opinions even if we don't always agree with each other.  Anyone who knows me will also know that I can be a self-opinionated pain the backside at times (especially after a few single malts!), but even I can tell that this is a worthwhile site to visit and catch up on the gossip without being personally abusive to the staff or anyone else.
 
Neil Escott

WEST OF ENGLAND:

The numbers game

Is it not time that we looked again at how many bands each region sends to the National Finals. Whilst I accept that the current rules are being correctly applied, it cannot be fair that the North of England on the strength of only 5 entries in the 2nd section is permitted to send 2 bands to Harrogate and the West of England Area that had 16 entries is also sending 2 bands! (you do the math!)

Having only ever played in the L&SC and the WoE regionals myself, its seems the larger regions tend to lose out in terms of fair representation at the finals to the North and the Celtic nations.

Ian Heard
From a slightly "miffed"
Soundhouse Brass (Plymouth)
3rd Prize Winners WoE 2nd Section.

4BR Reply:
It is in the rules Ian. Two bands qualify in fields up to and including 16 bands. Perhaps that may change in future to reflect the strength in numbers of some areas, but there are no plans at present we understand.

Well done to the Cornish area

I'd like to add my congratulations to all the Cornish winners in every section at the West of England area. Unfortunately I couldn't be there to listen but have been following the results avidly on 4BR.

Apart from the Cornish bands that qualified, its also interesting to note that the winning conductors in all the sections, apart from the Championship, were all proud Cornishmen ! So: John Hitchens (Helston), Brian Minear (St. Dennis), Peter Minear (St.Pinnock), David Marshall (Verwood).....and not forgetting my brother Adrian Harvey who steered Sidmouth to the runners-up spot in the 4th section - well done to you all.
 
Aaron Harvey
 
PS I was going to write this in the Cornish language but I know you have enough trouble with txt-speak!!

Astute Mr Morrison

Having worked extensively on Howard Snell's Images I would like to agree with the very level and astute Mr Allan Morrison - 50% of our adjudication panel for the West of England Regional - when he stated in his general remarks to us all in the auditorium that the piece was just too difficult for the second section.
 
It is indeed a monumental undertaking to approach this piece for performance in the lower sections.
 
This said, my own band made an extraordinary journey with this work.  Their determination to make something of the music was an inspiration to me.  It would be easy to praise the music if we had 'got a result' on Saturday. We did not and of course we were as disappointed as any one would be with a low place ( 11th by the way, to save you the research!)
 
You're waiting for a but and here it is. BUT the band grew, BUT it is a better band than the one we started with in January 2006. It was by the way all our own band - no conscripts!!
 
150 years ago contesting was established to raise the standard. I cannot speak for anyone else's band but I can certainly say that I enter a busy summer programme with a band that has grown because of the process it has just completed.
 
Well done Mr Morrison for your comments - we will build on them.
 
Peter Nutt
MD Weston Brass

MIDLANDS:

Knowing more than the men in the box?

Well, well. Quite a few comments on the Midlands area from a number of learned people who obviously now more about adjudicating than the men in the box that weekend.

There were a number of very good performances at the Midlands 3rd, 2nd and Championship section, bit I won't comment on the 1st and 4th as I didn't hear these sections.

The Championship Section some great performances, with Langley hard done by off the no 1 slot but a good overall show. Jaguar and Newstead both had very exciting performances with solos well played and the audience enjoyed both bands. Desford and GUS were solid and workmanlike performances from both bands so should they have won?

My gripe was most bands set off at a cracking tempo but soon settled down and slowed down whereupon the music soon lost its excitement for me, and possibly the men in the box. I have no axe to grind as I played for most of the bands at the Midlands area at some point and won many prizes with some of them.

The result stands. Get a life. Sorry if I've not mentioned all the bands, but there's always next year.      

Clive Purnell

Two in the box - a good move

I have read with interest the predictions, retrospectives, comments and band press about the Championship section results for the Midlands area. 

For the first time in the Midlands there were two adjudicators in the box, which is a positive change in my opinion.  I was fortunate to hear all of the bands in the championship section and was impressed by the quality of playing by most of the bands. 

Josephine Jones writes that "bands one and two didn't get below mp or above f+" and then goes on to say that Newstead Band were overblowing - which is it to be Josephine? Could I just ask all of the people who have made negative comments about the first and second placed bands, if you were in the adjudicators box and not able to see which band was on stage, would your opinions be any different?  

For what it is worth, I think that Newstead's win was justified - they gave a quality performance - ok there was the odd clipped note, but no band came off stage unscathed including Desford and Woolley Pritchard Sovereign! It is high time that bands like Newstead were taken seriously and I will watch with interest how they progress.

I wish Newstead and Jaguar the very best for the 2006 finals.

Eileen Starr

SCOTLAND:

Agree to disagree

Having looked at the website to see what you had to say about the recent Scottish Regionals, I have to say that when I looked in the "your comments" section I was appalled at what was written there. 

I do agree that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that sometimes you have to agree to disagree but the language used in some of the emails was, to my mind, unacceptable.  I think the website is very informative and have to disagree with one of the emails which accuses 4 bars rest of not knowing a thing about the brass band movement.  If it is, in fact, such a bad site, why bother to visit it? 

Perhaps some of the contributors to this section of the website would be better served with CBeebies until they grow up a bit a can conduct themselves in a more adult fashion. 

Your coverage of the Scottish Regionals was spot on and, lets face it, it's a hobby and not a life or death situation if a band doesn't do well on the day - there's always next year.

Keep up the good work!

L. Smith

Scottish wins?

I would like to reply please to Mr Olav Skar with reference to Scottish Co-op's number of championship wins.

For reasons unbeknownst to even myself, I have in my possession Championship Contest Records from 1895-1998, as compiled by the Scottish Brass Band Association Executive Committee.

By my counting, this year, the band won the Scottish Championships for the 28th time, and 20th (not 17th) time since it became the regional contest in 1945. Then again, I play baritone, I struggle to count past 4.

Incidentally, congratulations to all the other bands that were lucky enough to qualify in Motherwell.  Good luck at the Nationals.

Lucy Forbes
Scottish Co-op.

4BR Reply:
We have checked our records too Lucy and it is 17 since 1945. Can anyone else confirm the right amount though?

NORTH WEST:

Upsetting people

Congratulations on providing such a wide and comprehensive coverage of the Regionals - a mammoth task. I must make a few comments though in relation to the letter sent in by Helen Minshall. 

We all know that 4BR were simply stating an opinion, but you have to remember that you are doing so in a journalistic forum - and with that comes responsibility.  I was always under the impression that 4BR were great supporters of the whole band movement, but surely you must maintain your support with constructive criticism and encouragement. 

If a band needs a kick up the backside then give it such a kick - and a big one if needs be - but don't forget the massive responsibility that you have in such a forum and the ability to make a change for the better through what you write!

The comments that Malcolm Wood made did nothing to encourage or help Besses in any way.  What he has done is to alienate several supporters of 4BR.  He clearly did not like the performance and was entitled to say so, but to say it in the way he did seem to be very irresponsible to many people and quite frankly, in my opinion, reeked of arrogance.

I enjoy your reports overall, but some of your writers need to be reigned in and reminded that whilst we want to hear honest opinions about our performances, we are hardworking and very dedicated amateurs and expect an organisation such as yours to also offer encouragement.  If all you are about is to push your own barrow and have your opinions heard however negative they may be towards a hardworking and aspiring band then I think that would surprise a lot of people who thought you were here to serve and support the brass band movement. 

You are clearly upsetting quite a lot of people all over the country.  There is a problem with the manner of some of your writers and hopefully you will address it before you upset more people who have been great supporters of you.

Rob Kavanagh

Disappointing comments

I am disappointed to say the least to note some of your comments in the retrospective review of the Championship section of the recent North West area contest.

Whilst, as you have pointed out in answer to another readers concerns, these are simply your opinions, I feel that some of the overly harsh criticism of the bands is counter productive to the banding movement as a whole, and also to many of the so called "lesser bands" in the Championship section.

It is also somewhat concerning that you as one of more respected commentators in the banding press should be so critical - indeed I feel that it asks questions of your perspective when reviewing contest performances.

I accept that some of the top bands put in performances of "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" that were notably better than others, but I certainly do not believe that the gap between fourth and last is as great as your commentator makes out.

It must also be noted that this piece was written especially for one of the worlds leading bands less than twelve months ago. The majority of bands were going to experience severe difficulties with this piece, and I do not feel that your review gives enough recognition of this fact.

Having read the comments in your retrospective, I feel that it is very much a case that if you are somebody (either individuals or a band) you can expect high praise, and everyone else is there for a good slating.

Based on what I heard both in the hall and around the Winter Gardens complex, I wonder if your "adjudicator" actually listened to the performances because the comments made do not reflect the comments made by the players and audience members afterwards.

Please do not let 4BR become yet another publicity machine for the "big boys" - you have in the past always treated the less well known bands in a fair manner, for the sake of the banding world please continue to do so.

Stuart Russell

Negative 4BR

I feel that I must write to voice my opinion on the negative remarks that your team are receiving nowadays. I must say that I do agree with a lot of them!

One instant, I feel that Malcolm Wood should give a fair coverage of ALL bands in the Top Section, not just the 'Big Names'. Helen Minshall commented on Malcolm Wood's remarks that were different from John Berryman's (the adjudicator). North West Area, Blackpool.

I know John very well and listened to a lot of the Top Section bands. He is a very fair and accurate adjudicator and his comments about Besses were positive. Malcolm Wood needs to address his skills on this issue.

Also, YOUR replies to a lot of these complaints that you receive (in my opinion), I feel that you act in a very unprofessional manner.

Your replies are at times, almost as though you do not take these complaints seriously. The words Arrogant and Dismissive immediately come to mind.

Remember, this is YOUR site, you should be responding in a more positive manner to bandsmen's comments (as so should Malcolm Wood on bands performances). Do your staff have any training as reporters?  After all, they are representing your site/business. People may become 'fed up' of contacting you with their comments. In time, this could mean that 'Your Comments' page would cease to exist.

Think about it! 

I hope that this article does appear in Your Comments and I eagerly await your reply to myself!
PS, how about updating the Rankings Page more frequently too.

Phil Symonds
North West

4BR Reply:
Sorry you don't agree with us Phil - but we give our opinions honestly and without any recourse to bias towards any bands. We also take our comments sections very seriously (perhaps explaining why we get so many) and try to give everyone the chance to air their opinions - even if they don't agree with ours.

Check Point Charlie in Blackpool

Firstly I must agree entirely with Chris Doran's comments regarding the staff at the Winter Gardens. Check Point Charlie comes to mind!

I arrived at the contest early to support friends a family from lower section bands and after the interrogation from the Winter Gardens staff, almost felt I deserved a stamp on my passport! Once inside amongst fellow bandsfolk, the normal warm and welcoming atmosphere was enjoyed by all.

Secondly I feel I must defend 4BR regarding the comments regarding Besses. Although Mr Berryman may have been complimentary regarding certain areas of the performance surely the result speaks for itself.

I enjoyed working on and performing Journey to the Centre of the Earth and what superb piece to retire from my current band (we also didn't qualify, just!). But it baffles me that players become so upset about past performances - surely the next performance is the most important.

Richard Shaw
Ex Wingates

Comments beyond you...

I'm sorry my comments are beyond you. Let me explain.

The comments are in bad taste because people who were not in Blackpool on the day, but who rely on the press and such sites as yours for accurate feedback from the contest, will read 4 bars rest, and will actually believe the "opinions" stated in the retrospectives, as they will think that they have been written by skilled musicians who know what they are talking about!

Helen Minshall

4BR Reply:
Thanks again Helen , but we would refer you to our previous answer It is all about opinions - yours, ours, and any one elses. That's what makes our movement vibrant and alive. Without them, it would wither and die. 

Success comes in many forms

Success comes in many forms - for some bands this means winning the contest or qualifying for the Finals.  For others getting a band to the contest and performing on the next step of the ladder represents a significant achievement. 

The band we play for (United Co-op Milnrow) performed in the Championship Section at Blackpool with half of the current personnel remaining from the band which played in the Fourth Section ten years earlier - we think this counts as a success.  We also successfully overcame the problem many 'village' bands face in having to sign new players by looking outside the brass band arena for musicians capable of playing the parts - an indication of the band's creativity and desire to progress.

Furthermore, two of our established players willingly changed instruments to accommodate these new signings, one from cornet to Eb bass! We didn't make our excuses and drop out we dealt with it and did our best.

What remains frustrating in the brass band world is the persistence of people like Malcolm Wood to pursue a condescending attitude that is of no help to anyone. 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' was written for Black Dyke and was always therefore going to stretch many bands in the lower half of the Championship section. Bands such as ourselves are quite aware that the jump from First Section to Championship is a big one and therefore an enormous challenge. Finally we are also well aware that it will take time to attain the sound and technical ability required at this level.

I am sure you are intelligent enough to take the time to tell us something we don't know. Maybe you could try focusing on the teamwork and long hours of practice from each and every one of us that meant we didn't come bottom of the pile. You never know, you might enjoy supporting the underdog, and instead of having to write to you we could be practicing blowing a bigger sound!
 
Helen & Keith Russell
Milnrow Band

WALES:

Well done Newbridge

I am at present taking some time out from banding in order to concentrate on my business. As a horn player with experience in playing with several very good championship bands I had a couple of hours spare on Saturday afternoon 18th March so I popped into the Brangwyn Hall Swansea to have a listen to some bands.

Although I have been out of the banding scene for only 9 months it is always in your blood. It was disappointing to see a so very few people listening to the bands particularly with such a demanding and pleasurable second section test piece. It was the first time that I heard the music and straightaway I thought that it was far too difficult for this level. The bands I heard made a very good attempt at the music but to be honest they way off the finished product, but not their fault. I began to think oops! another clanger by the music panel.
 
Band number 8 came on stage Newbridge directed by Paul Holland. Paul made an impression on me last year when whilst playing solo horn with Cwmaman he  rehearsed us on Masquerade and boy did he make us work.
 
From the very first bar I sat up on the edge of the seat and listened to an outstanding performance that literally was light years ahead of the rest of the field. I thought this is a championship band in the making with consistent improvement. Thank you Paul and the band for making by day and, having played in a winning band at the Royal Albert Hall in the second section (Penclawdd ) look out Harrogate the second section title is destined to return to Wales.
 
Gareth Davies.    

LONDON AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES:

Positive experience

I would like to share some thoughts with your readership on the very positive experience of taking a very inexperienced band to an Area Contest for the first time. This will seem like an odd thing to say when my squad of players (75% of whom are beginners or adult starters) ended up at the bottom of a very large 4th Section entry in the London region this Sunday!
 
Nevertheless, despite the result, positive it has been.
 
The first reason for this, I believe, is that the powers that be selected a totally appropriate test piece for this level of banding. The music, Anglian Dances, was approachable, even for relative beginners, and held the interest of players for the duration of the preparation period, but also contained sufficient challenge and difficulty to provide endless teaching points in the rehearsals. The piece helped make striving for the goal fun; even if in our case we didn't actually get the goal, our time has not been wasted.
 
The second reason is down to perceptive adjudication. The 'crit' we received was accurate and helpful, but most of all, although the man in the box clearly recognised that he was hearing a young and inexperienced outfit, paid us the respect due, and judged us by the same standards and criteria which were applied to others, without condescension. We didn't get a prize but we came away with something useful (and potentially of even more value) - a reasoned and thoughtful appraisal. This, sadly, has not always been the case with adjudicators.
 
The final reason boils down to support and encouragement. In our case not just from some fantastically committed and supportive experienced players who helped to make the opportunity happen for some new banding recruits, alongside family and friends, and members of our senior band, but from the L&SC contest organisers and local banding rivals too.
 
If Brass Bands are to survive and develop as a force in music making in this country we need to enthuse players and encourage further developing bands to participate in contests. Might I suggest we continue to make contesting a worthwhile activity for all participants through making sure we select appropriately challenging and interesting music with learning in mind, and invest in quality adjudicators (perhaps a panel rather than just one?) who understand how to motivate as well as provide a critical analysis of performance, as I believe the L&SC have done for the 4th Section this year.
 
End result for us is that we were thrilled to get a whole new band of starters on stage and through, for them, a difficult challenge; we got loads out of preparing for and participating in our first contest and will be back to try to do better next year.
 
Dave Johnston
MD: Broseley Development Band

Not sour grapes

Many of your readers will think "sour grapes" when they read this, but I would like to advise them it is written with much more of a sense of real anger and frustration. Before I go any further I would like to point out that the views aired below are my own, and not an official line from the Band.
 
Having arrived in good time for the 12.30 draw we were disappointed to learn that we were to play 25th and last, but took the opportunity to listen to some of the other competing bands, and as always made our own observations regarding their interpretation and presentation of the piece. The first band I heard was Wantage and stayed through until Thundersley (outstanding) had completed their programme. I left the hall feeling rather confident that if we played the piece at anything above our average rehearsal performance, then we had a chance of being in the top half of the results.
 
Our performance went well, one of our better performances was the general view. Not to Thundersley standard by any means but the tempo's were good, dynamics mostly correct, solo passages well played and musical. There were a couple of areas for concern with some relatively minor errors. Nothing, we believed that compared to some of the band's we had listened to who had the misfortune for soloists to play disastrously, or to play the last movement (marked at 144) at 100 beats per minute, or to play the entire five movements at essentially the same tempo. We were genuinely pleased with our playing and confident that a mid-table result was on the cards.
 
Our Adjudicator, Chris Wormald, wasted very little time in completing his work, and emerged from 'the box' to give his summary of the day, which he said had been a long one for him. He observed that a programme of 25 bands was much larger than he had adjudicated previously, and indicated that beyond 20 was a real challenge for him.
 
Reading Chris's remarks, we found them to be a fair and honest appraisal of what we thought we had done with the piece. There were some minor negatives (to be expected), but generally positive comments using words like 'perfect' (yes underlined) and generally commenting on how well all of our soloists performed - but shock, horror and genuine disbelief - a placing of =24. We know we played better than that! I could go on and on but I'm right out of grapes.
 
The important points here are:-
1)   If  25 bands is too many for a sensible adjudication to be made throughout, then don't have 25 bands. Restrict the entry, or split into 2 completely different sections (North and South or East and West) on different days and/or with different Adjudicators.

2)   If an Adjudicator accepts an appointment to assess 25 performances he should do precisely that. I am afraid that Chris's comments, about a field of more than 20 bands seem to be fully supported by the statistic that the last 5 bands to perform were placed within the last 7 positions. Looks like Chris was right - the concentration does waver a lot after 6+hours in the box.
 
Our challenge is that we now have to pick up a band from an unjustified setback. I am not talking about qualifying or not qualifying, but about an appropriate placing which reflects the Adjudicator's considered view. The excellent comments from Chris Wormald are appreciated and will help, but we are the only people to see them, the rest of you will just see '=24'.
 
Tony Saunders
Bletchington Silver Band

Caveat Empor

Richard Walker
Trom Thoresby Colliery
 
Below is an article written by Andy Derrick, a freelance trombonist and member of Musician Union Executive Committee.  I am posting his article with his kind permission.  The article is particular of interest to me as last year, my beloved Conn Elkhart Trombone was stolen as result of my car being stolen (and subsequently used in a ram raid).  The trombone appeared on a well known auction site, and unfortunately Andy was the unlucky bidder for my trombone, which he subsequently and inadvertantly purchased.  The article serves to remind us that there is no such thing as the perfect bargain and when buying goods and services over the WWW, more caution should be used.
 
Hope the article is of interest......
 
Buyer Beware!
 
Most of you that are online cannot fail to have noticed how popular online auctions are becoming. Now used by upwards of 100 million people, the well-known site Ebay, is fast becoming a part of all of our lives.
 
Buying and selling is so easy, especially as they also own Paypal, an online banking service that allows vendors to receive credit card payments on a pay-as-you-go basis without having to set-up a costly merchant account. I myself have been able to track down hard to find CD's and LP's as well as books and DVD's. As a vendor, I have been selling my compositions for 6 months now and have a steady trade with many returning customers.
 
To sell an item all you need is a photo, a clear description, a realistic price and then just sit back and wait for the bids to roll in. From cars and houses through to scalextric and monopoly, you can buy or sell practically anything.
 
Given the ease of the selling system, it could be open to abuse. I had a recent experience with an online auction website that has left me tearing my hair out. In April this year, I saw a fantastic trombone for sale. It was quite obvious from the price and description that the vendor did not realise the potential value. I successfully bid £460 for the trombone, plus £30 for delivery. I later find out that the instrument was stolen from a friend of mine and that the vendor was also selling other items from the robbery. After Police statements were given, I was told to wait before dealing with the auction site regarding return of property and feedback to the vendor. Eventually the Police have decided not prosecute due to lack of evidence. It has also turned out that the vendor has stopped being a member of the auction site.
 
In most cases of a dispute, auction sites rely on feedback given by buyers and sellers to police minor problems. For example, late delivery or incorrect goods can be handled by leaving a negative feedback. This then later hurts the vendor as the more negative feedback there is, the lower their score and the harder it is to be trusted. In extreme circumstances a dispute process can be initiated and compensation can be given. 
  
In my particular situation, the Police would not prosecute due to lack of evidence, although they had serial numbers, and the name and address of the vendor; I could not post negative feedback as the vendor had given up membership of the auction site; no compensation was available as the sale did not violate the terms and conditions of the auction site! So now I am left with an instrument that I can never sell as it is stolen, the original owner wants it back but is obviously not keen to pay and all the fail-safes from the auction site were useless.
 
I believe that the auction websites are ideal places for unscrupulous individuals to deal in stolen goods. The websites are not doing enough to stop this illegal trade. Since my incident, I hear of more dodgy deals including the selling of bootleg CD's and other stolen goods.
 
I call for these online auction houses to change their ways. There is already a mechanism in place when selling cars and CD's where you can enter serial numbers or registration numbers into a database. The database then provides a great deal of information allowing accurate description of your item. Certainly it should be easy to ask when anyone sells a musical instrument for example that they must provide a serial number. That would allow anyone to check out the validity of the instrument and avoid being party to a criminal act. Of course, this only works for instruments that actually bear a serial number, classic string and folk instruments are not so identified. However, an effort by online auctioneers to help stop the sale of stolen instruments, would, in my opinion, greatly increase the confidence of it's users.
 
Andy Derrick
 
Andy is a 32-year old trombonist based in Birmingham. He works mainly as a Jazz trombonist but also freelances as an orchestral musician through the country. His group, the ADJQ have just released a CD, ‘Fancy Goods'. More information on Andy can be found at [url]www.adjq.co.uk[/url] 

4BR Reply:
We can only add our thoughts that if it looks too good to be true, then it usually is. Please be careful on auction sites as they are not always as secure as they seem.

Support for  'the proper banding ethos'
 
I would just like to reinforce the comments made by Tony Hodgetts regarding the values of  traditional 'banding', and to say that Kirkbymoorside Town Brass Band is, always has been, and hopefully always will be a 'proper' band, upholding all the things Tony Hodgetts regards as part of a true brass band.
 
Kirkbymoorside is a small rural town of about 5000 residents on the edge of the North York Moors, and records show that we have had a brass band since the very early 1800's. We are a band that has survived because of the support of the community, and strong family involvements over the years. Even now we still have parents and their children playing together, even grandchildren in two cases!  We survive because of our youngsters and the neverending teaching that goes on by our own very dedicated members who deserve medals for their commitment to that cause.

Because of our rural location, when our 'kids' reach 18, we lose most of them as they move on to University or Further Education, with most of them making their lives elsewhere as there are no real job opportunities for them in this area.The survival of our band relies totally on the never-ending cycle of teaching youngsters, bringing them in to the band, losing them and starting over again.  In other words, a never-ending treadmill of survival.
 
When I joined the band as a youngster in the '60s there were lots of old-fogies, and now I'm one one myself! But there are still several of us from the 'teaching treadmill' of that time who started playing in the band together and are still in the band now. Over the years we have moved around the band to make way for 'new blood' in order to help the band survive.

However, one member from those days and still in the band is an exception to that fact - our principal cornet. He has occupied the chair since 1976 and still shows that he is one of the best in the country. This year he clocks up 30 years as principal cornet - can any other player or band boast a record like that at this level?
 
In recent years as a result of uncovering local talent and nurturing it, we had two Euphonium players who made it into the National Youth Brass Band and who have now gone on to better things. And from 30 years ago we had a Trombonist, who went on to play principal trombone with the Halle Orchestra, and on last hearing, is now principal trombone with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
 
Competing is a big part of band and is important to us - we love to win just as much as anyone, but it's not the b-all and end-all, it's striving to achieve a performance with the players we have that matters.

Victories are rare for us, our last one came in 2004 when we won the Northern Area 1st Section in 2004 with 'Coventry Variations'. And from audience comments we thought we'd won last years Area contest, but a placing of third still resulted in us being promoted to the Championship Section for the third time in our history - our first being back in 1981 with 'Shining River' as our challenge. Since that time we have never dropped lower than First Section status, and always with lots of young players.
 
So yesterday we were at Darlington in the Championship Section, but not just to try and compete, but to try and achieve a performance.

We couldn't have had a worse draw, as we were sandwiched between Reg Vardy and Fishburn, the eventual winners and runners-up, but we took part nevertheless, finishing 7th with what we felt was a rather disappointing performance. A placing of 5th or 6th would have been a success for us; 7th is still alright, but not what we hoped we might have achieved had we given our best performance.

But we did achieve a performance - we didn't withdraw because the piece was too hard - we worked relentlessly for months, we tried our hardest to compete on the day, but we tried even harder to achieve a performance. We did and that is a real credit to our youngsters.
 
We were the only band in the Championship Section with a large contingent of youngsters, with no less than two 17-year olds, three 16 year olds, one 15 year old (my own daughter in her very first contest), one 14 year old and a 12 year old (also his first contest). Three of those youngsters plus one adult formed our percussion team. What stiffer test is there for percussionists?  
 
Back in November, some of us half-thought that we may not compete because of the difficulty of the piece, yet in the end we did compete, we did achieve a performance, not our best, but still a performance.

So I am very proud to have been be part of that, proud to be part of a band that has worked relentlessly at the piece since November, but mostly proud to see our youngsters achieving so much. Well done all of you.
 
It's not bad for a completely self-funded, unsponsored, self teaching, 'town band', is it?
 
And just a 'final' note: I'm sure we all dream of performing at the National Finals in the Royal Albert Hall and realistically our band perhaps may never get there in my remaining lifetime.

But I am certain of one thing, if I am lucky enough ever to play there, I want it to be with my friends and fellow band members, with printed in the programme the name of 'Kirkbymoorside Town Brass Band'.
 
Long-live 'proper' brass bands. 
 
Jim Butler
Bass Trombone and lifelong member of Kirkbymoorside Town Brass Band

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