Sunday 17, 09:11:35

Good morning from Gateshead

After the Cory led celebrations at the 47th Brass in Concert Championships here last night, today it is the turn of the eight fantastic youth bands to provide their unique brand of entertainment for the audience and judges to enjoy here.

It all kicks off at 11.00am with the bands drawn as follows:

Adjudicators: Andrea Price and Anne Crookston

1. Lancashire Youth (Helen Minshall)
2. Lions Youth (Ian Raisbeck)
3. Seindorf Beaumaris (Peter Cowlishaw)
4. Youth Brass 2000 (Chris Jeans)
5. Macclesfield Youth (Louise Renshaw)
6. Houghton Area Youth (Brian Adams)
7. Elland Silver Youth (Samantha Harrison)
8. Wardle Academy Youth (Brad McCulloch)

Sunday 17, 09:08:41

All Night Long...

The prizegiving was followed by even more brass entertainment provided by Backstage Brass... and it went long into the night.

Saturday 16, 20:15:45

Results:

Judges:
Quality of Music: Uwe Koller (A) & Rieks Van der Velde (B)
Programme Content: Andrea Price
Entertainment & Presentation: Chris King (A) & Al Booth (B)

Audience Entertainment Vote: Flowers
Quality of Performance: Brighouse & Rastrick
Best Performance in Entertainment & Presentation: Cory
Highest Placed Band in Programme Content: Krohnengen

Best New Composition or Arrangement: Deception Island (Magnus Brandseth)

Best Soloist: Roger Webster (Brighouse & Rastrick)
Best Soprano: Richard Poole (Foden's)
Best Principal Cornet: Luke barker (Flowers)
Best Flugel: Lauren Chinn (Flowers)
Best Horn: Hayley Beynon (Aldbourne)
Best Baritone: Joel Collier (Cory)
Best Euphonium: Glyn Williams (Cory)
Best Trombone: Andrew Yorkstone (Hammonds)

Best Basses: Foden's
Best Percussion: Foden's

Youngest Player: Ash Paton (the cooperation band)

Saturday 16, 20:14:53

Pre-results round up and opinion...

A great day here in Gateshead with 11 performances, all of merit in their own right. Some bands had a better mix of the three elements of the judging criteria at Brass in Concert. In terms of ranking the bands, trying to second guess six judges responsible for their individual areas seems an improbable task — but I'll do my best.

1. Flowers
2. Foden's
3. Cory
4. GUS
5. Brighouse & Rastrrick
6. Tredegar

James McLeod

Saturday 16, 19:28:19

Band No. 11: Aldbourne
Conductor: Katrina Marzella Wheeler

Programme: Jumanji!

Jeux d'enfants (Children's Games) i. Marche (Bizet arr. Daniel Hall)
The Yeti: At the Foot of the Mountain (Magnus Brandseth)
A New World (Daniel Hall)
(percussion feature)
Trapped! (Daniel Hall)
Horn of Puente (Gordon Goodwin arr. Daniel Hall)
featuring: Richard Hughes (cornet) and Robert Marsh (trombone)
Hiraeth (Longing for Home) (Daniel Hall)
Featuring: Hayley Beynon (tenor horn) and Jack Grimmett (flugel)
This Isn't Over (John Powell arr. Daniel Hall)

Aldbourne's inspiration is the tale of 'Jumanji' and Chris Van Allsberg's evocative illustrations. We're lead through the programme by actor Elizabeth McNally, playing the role of Judy, one of the children drawn into the exotic world of Jumanji by an enchanted board game, now grown up.

'Jeux d'enfants' opens the programme with the grandeur of Bizet's writing, and although there are some moments of discomfort, the full band playing is tight and the band display their round band sound.

We segue into 'The Yeti: At the Foot of the Mountain' for its second appearance of the day. The percussion drive this piece so well — and the technique of the players is so evident. There are some moments of untidy ensemble, but it all hangs together. Excellent bass and bass trombone sounds through the riffs here.

'The New World' short percussion feature brings the band into 'Trapped!' — both pieces by Daniel Hall. The ticking clock of the woodblock underpins this piece, with strong driving rhythms from the drumkit too. The percussion and band aren't always balanced, but when the are it's fantastic, exciting stuff.

'Horn of Puente' gets off to a rocky start between piano and band, and the balance isn't quite right there either. The percussion are great in this — as are soloists Robert Marsh on trombone and Richard Hughes on cornet. There is a lot of unison writing here that shows off some good ensemble and rhythmic playing.

Hayley Beynon is the tenor horn soloist in 'Hiraeth (longing for home)' and plays with a full, rich sound — there is some poor intonation in her accompaniments though, which is a real shame. Tuned percussion through this effective and keeps this slow, poignant music moving.

After a full band tutti, Hayley brings this solo to a beautiful close — and is met with one of the biggest audience reactions of the day — and it is well deserved, very well played.

The big finish is 'This isn't Over' by film composer John Powell — I wish I knew which film it was from! Grand, sweeping band lines lead to an exciting close — well played.

A strong showing from Aldbourne here. A very good theme and programme, performed with style — and with clear audience appreciation!

James McLeod

Saturday 16, 18:29:13

Band No. 10: Foden's
Conductor: Michael Fowles

Programme: Cassius: The Rumble in the Jungle
Narrated by Rex Richardson

Ballad for Emmett Till (Will Savage)
Featuring: Jon Probert (Trumpet)
The Greatest (Jonathan Bates)
Featuring: Jonathan Bates
Blowin' in the wind (Bob Dylan arr. John Barber)
Soloist: Richard Poole)
When The Going Gets Tough (Billy Ocean arr. Jonathan Bates)
Featuring: John Barber
The Rumble in the Jungle (Jonathan Bates)
Heavyweight Champion of the World (Reverend & The Makers arr. Jonathan Bates)

Foden's open their programme with 'The Ballad for Emmett Till' — with Jon Probert as the trumpet soloist, with accompaniment by John Barber on Piano, Andy Cattanach on Tuba and Anthony Mann on drum kit — exploring the impact Emmett Till's murder had on the Muhammad Ali, the inspiration for their performance. This is stylish and dark — and very well played.

'The Greatest' features its composer Jonathan Bates as the tenor horn soloist. From the opening bars where we hear the full power of Fodens Band this is a performance of such strength. The driving rhythms and bassline power this piece forward — and Richard Poole shines on soprano.

Bob Dylan's 'Blowin' in the Wind' arranged by the band's principal trombonist John Barber features Richard Poole to open, who is joined to form a trio.

There is a gracefulness to this opening — before Richard Poole is afforded the opportunity to soar over the band. The accompaniments are so well played and so well balanced. Fantastic playing by all.

Another pop tune with Billy Ocean's "When the going gets tough". It's light and breezy, with a fantastic trombone solo from John Barber.

'The Rumble in the Jungle' is the name given to Ali's famous victory over George Foreman in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) — and it features the exemplary percussionists 'battling' across the stage — and we hear the three rings of the bell too, signifying the beginning and end of a boxing bout.

Jonathan Bates and Gary Curtin on euphonium add virtuosic solos. A slower and reflective section tells of Ali's post fight struggles with Parkinson's disease — with Mark Wilkinson adding a beautiful cornet solo.

The music draws to an heroic close after being told on the multimedia presentation of the honours Ali was given after his boxing career was done, including lighting the Olympic flame in 1996 — it's moving and powerful playing.

'Heavyweight Champion of the World' by Reverend and the Makers bring the programme to an end — the third pop song of the programme, but one that gets feet tapping — and Gary Curtin dancing at the front, so it's all right by me.

It's good fun to finish a programme that has touched on some heavy themes.
Blockbuster playing from Fodens — with a great programme of variety and played with immense confidence — a real contender in round 10 of this 11 round fight ... I mean, contest.

James McLeod

Saturday 16, 17:53:38

Band No. 9: Carlton Main Frickley Colliery
Conductor: Allan Withington

Programme: The Snow Queen by Jack Capstaff
Narrator: Kirsten Lindhardt Withington

I: Introit
II: The Looking Glass
III: Gerda and Kai
IV: Garden of Flowers
V: The Robber Maiden
VI: The Lapland Woman
VII: Palace of the Snow Queen
VIII: Happily Ever After

The 'concertino' group of cornet, flugel, baritone and euphonium sit in the middle of the 'ripieno' band from Carlton Main — with Anna Spedding on flugel taking much of the early lead before our narrator Kirsten Lindhart Withington introduces the premise of the Snow Queen and the magical mirror in which everything appears ugly. The balance isn't always good between narrator and band.

The are some uncomfortable moments in 'Gerda and Kai' in the accompaniments which detract from the soloists at the front. There are some great bass trombone and bass sounds, particularly in the louder passages. Claire Taylor sings over the band in her cornet solos, before we heard more full band tutti to close the movement.

The music is poignant, if the playing is not always totally together. The solo contributions are all solid throughout the 'Garden of Flowers' of movement — there are some moments of poor intonation and the odd blemish creeps into.

The trombone section are always together and sound great when they are the featured.

Ian McCormick sings a high euphonium solo with a fantastic sound — before the music becomes more foreboding and tense in 'The Palace of the Snow Queen'. There are more intonation problems starting to show through here though.

After Gerde and Kai are reunited and we head for 'Happily Ever After' the band begin a virtuosic reprise of some of the opening motifs — and we see the 'concertino group' move to the front of the stage. There is the occasional moment of microphone feedback as we race towards the close.

Not the finest performance from Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band. The nature of playing along to an animation, and with a narrator with so much dialogue, is that their playing was tertiary to the other elements.

For me, the music wasn't the most important part of this performance, and I feel that will not be rewarded by the judges.

James McLeod

Saturday 16, 17:03:37

Band No. 8: Flowers
Conductor: Paul Holland

Programme: Game On!

Press Start (Lucy Pankhurst)
Quest for Coin (Daniel Hall)
Beyond the Veil (Thibaut Bruniaux)
Soloist: Paul Richards
Guitar Zero (Stijn Aertgeerts)
Fractured Reality (Dan Price)

Lucy Pankhurst's 'Press Start' opens — with tape accompaniment featuring sounds that hark back to Pong! and others from the earliest days of arcade games.

The music accelerates as we 'level up' and features some interesting percussion instruments mimicking the sound of 'shooting' in Space Invaders — I asked Lucy what the name of instrument is and she said "It's a DIY thing, but it's called a slinky laser in the score".

We see the countdown to zero as the piece ends as the timer and the request to 'insert coin' reach zero.

This programme is fodder for someone like me who loves video games. Daniel Hall's 'Quest for Coin' is inspired by Mario Kart — and features solos from cornet, baritone and horn before an extended euphonium solo.

The music is exciting and the virtuosity on display is impressive. Paul Holland starts distributing Mario and Luigi figures to the audience as the piece draws to a dramatic close.

A sword is brought to the front before we hear 'Beyond the Veil' — a tribute to open world and role-playing games more popular in recent years. Paul Richards is the soprano soloist and his playing oozes class — he makes it look effortless. The band accompaniments are so delicate while he plays though you can hear so much detail.

The music is so evocative of the fantasy worlds players are invited to explore, some of which are displayed on the multimedia display. Utter class from Paul Richards, superb playing.

'Guitar Zero' starts with the multimedia presentation which plugs Flowers' CD recordings, a lovely touch on the multimedia presentation. The focus moves between the sections from trombones, to basses, horns to cornets.

Riffs from legendary rock songs such as Stairway to Heaven, From the Fire and Flames and an incredibly impressive 'Thunderstruck' from the euphoniums and baritones. There is a joyousness to Flowers' playing at the moment that permeates their entire programme.

'Fractured Reality' starts with antiphonal soprano and flugel melody over the ticking of an electronic backing track — meant to create a futuristic soundscape. The music is grand and expansive. The backing track sounds interject the flowing, exciting musical lines before we finally see the power off to finish the programme.

Exciting, modern music here from Flowers, and played at the level which they have shown throughout this year at the Open and the Nationals.

Very strong playing and an interesting theme — one of the best all-around performances of the day — with my front runner for best soloist with Paul Richards.

James McLeod

Saturday 16, 16:20:42

Band No. 7: Hammonds
Conductor: Morgan Griffiths

Programme: Variations (Andrew Lloyd Webber arr. Sandy Smith)

Soloists: Jon Davies (tuba), Andrew Yorkstone (trombone), Annabelle Voigt (horn), Kirsty Abbotts (cornet)

The atmospheric opening of smoke machine with muted cornets and trombones leads us into the well-known theme of Paganini's 24th Caprice — or the theme from the 'South Bank' show, or the theme from Wilby's 'Paganini Variations' if your cultural references need to be brass band based.

The opening is full of character with the euphonium and baritones taking the lead, before an excellent tuba solo leads us into a compound rhythm section.

This movement with constant quavers means it's so easy to hear the occasionally moment of poor ensemble which creep in, but is mostly good.

The relentless semiquavers in the solo cornets in the next passage are very neatly played and handed between the two. It leads into a jazz trombone solo. The playing here is all stylish and accompanied sensitively — the solo trombone is joined by the rest of the section to close.

The next lyrical horn solo is warmly played and the accompaniment very sympathetic to the soloist — and great balance.

Fantastic horn solo — bravo! Kirsty Abbots takes over the tune here, and her playing is so classy.

The music ticks along comfortably as we head into a 'funk' section, building up from the percussion groove as multiple layers add on top of each other — showing off the vibrant band sound.

A 5/4 section follows with tune seamlessly moving between instrumental groups with solid accompaniment from the basses and the middle of the band.
There are some great sounding bass trombone interjections. A short keyboard interlude brings us to an almost Troika like passage with the theme in the bass end of the band, played with real force.

The trombone and soprano duet is so well delivered by the soloists. There are still some moment of uncomfortable intonation in the accompaniments — before we heard a full band version of this variation tune.

As we process through the various sections — the solo trombone continues to shine — before the band descend down to the thumping conclusion.

A very difficult new arrangement by Sandy Smith, with a real test for the whole band, and played very well by Hammonds.

Although it was performed well, I feel there was more that could be done from an entertainment viewpoint.

James McLeod

Saturday 16, 15:26:45

Band No. 6: Brighouse & Rastrick
Conductor: Prof. David King

Programme: The Mark of Zorro:

Capistrano Overture Z-1920 (Scenes from a Silent Movie)

Capistrano — a people oppressed — the arrival of Zorro
Lolita, a damsel in distress
Captain Ramon and Zorro prepare to duel — the sword fight
Don Diego's broken heart — a tango at the Hacienda
The final duel — the oppressor vanquished — Zorro unmasked is reunited with Lolita

Roger Webster opens Brighouse's Mask of Zorro programme and the 'Capistrano Overture'. This is fireworks from the off, some wonderful technical displays — and it is so clean and precise. The basses and bass trombones add some power, and it winds up to a frenzied close.

As the main work 'Z1920 (Scene from a Silent Movie)' begins, we have horn and flugel solos — though there are moments of uncomfortable intonation in the accompaniments.

Some excellent solo contributions follow as the florid passages from the overture are heard — as well as notably solos from Roger Webster, and Chris Robertson on euphonium. There is some outstanding technique on display throughout the fast opening section, but particular mention to the basses playing semiquavers at the quieter dynamics, it was so clear.

Outstanding solo contributions from Mike Eccles, Andy Moore, Chris Robertson and Roger Webster close out the second slower movement before the 'sword fight' — which has more pyrotechnical displays of facility — outstanding playing.

Tom Smith enters as 'Don Diego' the alter ego to Roger Webster's 'Zorro' with a beautiful lyrical solo. There are a small number of moments of intonation in the accompaniment that take away from the beauty of the solo playing.

Dancers rather noisily join the band on stage (Not them themselves, but an uncomfortable squeak of the door as they enter). Shades of Brass in Concert 2022 when Brighouse tangoed their way to winning the competition.

Great soprano here, before the dancers leave the stage after a short stint on stage — and the music builds to its climactic conclusion — ending with three notes which must be inspired by Zorro's trademark 'Z' carving technique.

Very interesting from Brighouse — I can't of many pieces that work as both your European Brass Band Championships own choice and your Brass in Concert entry.

Playing of the absolute highest quality, particularly from the soloists, with the best tutti band playing that I've heard today.

James McLeod