Editorial ~ 2006 November

This month we consider the good and the bad of venues; whether or not we are choosing the right test pieces; and touch upon the issue of the adjudication.

Venues

A significant improvement to the presence and public profile of brass bands has been clearly demonstrated in at least two instances within Australia alone in the past 3 months, as contest organisers make the change to move major contests to different venues.

Both NSW and Victoria have moved their State titles to different venues which are newer, more comfortable, work logistically in terms of aspects such as warm up space, are well situated in terms of public amenities and parking, are acoustically suitable, and, as expected, the change has been appreciated by not only the bands, but also the public and contest organisers.

What is usually the case is the change comes at a cost.  More often than not, the venue change involves increased hire costs, and difficulty with the timing of the bookings given the popularity of the venue.  Both NSW and Victoria contest organisers should be applauded for making the change, finding a way to cover the extra cost, and having the forethought to book the venue well in advance - a classic example of where there is a will there is a way.

We look upon the upcoming Nationals in Ivanhoe.  There has been much discussion already about the chosen venue. Obviously there are pros and cons, but what has been encouraging to note is that the pros and cons have been considered by the organising body.  Whether or not the best option was chosen or not, many of us will no doubt be wiser in hindsight.

With the 2008 Nationals being held in Brisbane, the topic of venue, yet again, raises its head.  The Brisbane City Hall is an acoustic nightmare for brass bands.  Approximately 2km across the river from the Brisbane City Hall is the Griffith University Queensland Conservatorium of Music which contains quality auditoriums and other acoustically suitable space. Head of Brass at the Conservatorium and founder of Australia's first brass band course, Peter Luff, is excited about the prospect of playing host to the 2008 championships and was disappointed when he was not approached with respect to using the Conservatorium for the 2006 Nationals. It is refreshing to know that the organisers are carefully considering the venue issue, which will hopefully result in a decision which will prevent the acoustic disasters of the last two Nationals held in Brisbane. 

The venues at the New Zealand National Championships are always carefully considered beforehand.  Sure, things may not always be perfect but the processes of review and evaluation are well in place, to make changes where appropriate.

The concept of venue whether it be for contests or concerts is a major issue faced by event organisers.  More often than not, bands have invested major resources in terms of effort, time and money to attend or perform the chosen event.  To have to appear in a location that does little to enhance a performance is demoralising for the performers, to say the least.  Unfortunately, the venue can not only fail to enhance, but can go so far as to ruin all the preparation and hard work put in by the bands, not to mention the sometimes seemingly lack of value for money from the audience point of view.

The Nambour Festival of Brass, held annually in South East Qld, is essentially an entertainment contest which has been running for 38 years.  This year 16 bands supported the competition with the majority of bands from the lower grades.  The venue for this competition is an auditorium called the Hungerford Hall within the grounds of the Nambour High School.  The hall is old, and most significantly - not air-conditioned.  Year after year bands have complained directly to the organisers and the Qld Band Association about the conditions.  Several years ago, there were negotiations between the contest organisers and the QBA to improve the situation - all, unfortunately, to no avail.  The contest clearly has the support of most of the bands - they keep turning up. It is evident, however, that the support from soloists is rapidly on the decline - perhaps an indication of the contest's future.

The fact that this festival has survived for so many years is a credit to the contest organisers who over the years have invested vast amounts of time and energy. It begs the question, though, if changes and improvements were made, could the festival be even bigger and better?  And do the bands and their soloists deserve better?

Some of the anecdotes from the Nambour Festival of Brass weekend include:

• Between soloists, the accompanists rested in the concrete toilet area at the basement of the auditorium as it was the coolest place they could find.
• Between solo performances, the accompanists needed to wipe down the keys of the piano to remove sweat.
• Several soloists described sweat running down their legs whilst playing, and an overwhelming feeling of faintness due to the heat.
• Tuning issues due to the heat were extremely obvious and spoiled many performances.
• The noise from the exhaust fan attempting to make things cooler was awful.
• Bugs and insects loved the conditions - particularly on the stage.  Several reports of flies been swallowed were heard of.
• One particular quartet had an audience of three people.
• One contest official walked the stage in shorts and bare feet.
• The public were asked to pay a $10 entry fee to observe all of the above.

The cry for change is huge.  Contest organisers need to find the will and the way to make the change.  The fact that there is a brand new auditorium within the grounds of the same High School would be a good place to start investigating.

How is the venue issue percieved in your area?  Are we doing the movement any favours by performing in places which do little or nothing to help our cause?

What do you think?
Send an email to du.comments@4barsrest.com

Test Piece Choice

At both the Victorian and South Australian State Band Championships this year, The Night To Sing by Bramwell Tovey was chosen as the A Grade Test Piece.  The Victorian bands made creditable efforts with the performance of this piece, however, they struggled with the demands of the work.  This test selection is very difficult - suffice to say, too difficult for most A Grade bands in Australia and New Zealand.  It was alluded to that there were some A Grade bands in Victoria who did not attend due to the difficulty of this piece.

It is a similar situation in South Australia where this weekend, the A Grade event will not be contested.  Again, there is a 'feeling' that the underlying reason behind this weekends A Grade format in Tanunda is that the chosen test piece is way too difficult. 

Some could say that the choice of  The Night To Sing is reminiscent of when The Maunsell Forts by John McCabe (which was the test piece at the British Open in 2002) and was chosen as A Grade test piece in Victoria for the 2005 States.  Bands purchased the music but there were no entries in this section for 2005 as, ultimately, the bands chose not to compete due the inappropriateness of the selected music.

Ultimately, this type of occurrence has a detrimental effect on the brass band movement downunder.

Just because a test piece is the Championship piece in the UK or Europe, then does this mean it is suitable as an A Grade selection in Australia/New Zealand?  It would seem that this is not always the case.

What do you think?
Send an email to du.comments@4barsrest.com

Adjudication

Iwan Fox of 4BR wisely wrote in his overall retrospective of this years UK Regionals, "It would be very easy to castigate the judges following some 'surprise' results, but that is an easy option. Win or lose, respect for the decision of the adjudicators is integral to the continued development of our movement. Long may that continue." 

Never a truer word were spoken.

However, that does not mean to say that we cannot look ahead and reflect upon and improve what we do. Otherwise it is a case of, "If we do what we always do, we get what we've always got".

At the time of writing this months editorial, 4BRDU are in communication with Brian Buckley and Philip Biggs, who are both at the forefront of the contesting scene in the UK, with Brian being the Secretary of the UK Association of Brass Band Adjudicators (ABBA) and Philip a high profile contest and events manager.  The adjudication processes and systems in the UK are progressive - constantly evolving to assist improvement and betterment of the brass band movement.  What is done in the UK could well provide us with a model or framework upon which to advance our standards downunder.  Stay tuned.

What do you think?
Send an email to du.comments@4barsrest.com

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