Marsden Silver struck musical gold at Pontins on Sunday evening when they claimed the Harry & Margaret Mortimer Championship and the £3,000 top prize under the direction of Glyn Willaims.
Quite outstanding
Their clear victory on 'Les Preludes' came courtesy of a performance described as 'quite outstanding' by adjudicators Dr Roy Newsome and Major Peter Parkes.
The winning MD was understandably delighted when he spoke to 4BR, clutching the Pontins Trophy in his hand, and paid full tribute to his band — as well as generously thanking the contribution given by his astute 'dep' signings on the day — a decision he revealed was made out of a mixture of necessity and design.
"I knew we needed to play two sopranos on this piece," he told 4BR. "...so asking Martin Irwin was something that I felt was needed. We also have a number of personnel gaps at the moment too, so I was thankful that a few friends such as Mark Wilkinson and Nick Lees as well as my wife Helen were able to help out too. Without them we wouldn't have been able to compete."
Their clear victory on 'Les Preludes' came courtesy of a performance described as 'quite outstanding' by adjudicators Dr Roy Newsome and Major Peter Parkes4BR
Questioned roles
On a contest day when the adjudicators openly questioned the musical roles of the conductors and their abilities to understand what Roy Newsome described as 'the rudiments of music', Marsden's balanced ensemble sound allied to secure solo lines brought them a commanding victory.
Marsden's soprano player Dale Garner was awared the Arthur Bedwell Memorial Trophy as the day's 'Best Instrumentalist', but he also paid generous tribute to Martin Irwin, the Brighouse & Rastrick soprano who teamed up with him on the day — "Martin was brilliant — so this was a something of a team award,' he told 4BR."
The judges also praised the efforts of the other prize winners, describing their performances as 'excellent', although on what was overall a highly disappointing contest, many competitors in the 15 band field will have left with a clear indication of just what a true championship level test piece entails.
Delighted
Second place went to a delighted St Dennis, conductor by Darren Hawken, who made an immediate impression on the judges off the number 1 draw to claim the £1,500 runner up prize, whilst a confident contest closing performance from Jaguar (Coventry) gave Dave Lea and his band a well deserved podium finish in third.
Fourth place went to last year's First Section champion, Blackburn & Darwen with a robust performance under the direction of Nick Sheppard.
First Section title for Jackfield
The first Pontins title to be settled on Saturday in Prestatyn came when Jackfield (Elcock Reisen) took the First Section honours and the £2,500 top prize under the baton of Simon Platford.
The MD was a little taken back after the announcement of the results, honestly telling 4BR that both he and his band felt that they hadn’t perhaps done themselves justice on Darrol Barry’s descriptive set work, ‘Flamborough Seascapes’.
No doubt
However, the experienced men in the box, Kevin Wadsworth and C Brian Buckley were in no doubt that the Midlanders fully deserved their victory, on a piece Kevin described as requiring a degree of musical flow and aqueous flexibility if bands were to capture the essence of the evocative seascape pictures.
The winning conductor had certainly done his homework on the work – even visiting the rugged coastline around Flamborough to seek the right musical inspiration – and on the day it worked wonderfully well for his confident band
Just behind them came the Londoners of Staines Brass, conducted by an understandably exhausted looking MD, Melvin White, who managed to cram in rehearsals for the contest around the imminent arrival of his first child.
With baby Amelia Rose born on Thursday, Melvin, with help of copious amounts of caffeine, plenty of good wishes and a new second trombone player (his wife, Susan, was due to play on the day, but things didn’t quite work out to plan), still managed to lead his band to the £1,200 second prize.
Third place was taken by the fancied Oldham (Lees) Band under the direction of John Collins, who produced a boldly coloured account that found fancy in the hall if not the box, whilst fourth place went to Longbridge conducted by Mark Peacock.
Their clear victory on 'Les Preludes' came courtesy of a performance described as 'quite outstanding' by adjudicators Dr Roy Newsome and Major Peter Parkes4BR
Second Section surprise
The first real surprise result of the weekend came in the Second Section on Sunday afternoon, where the announcement of Haydock as 2010 champions was greeted with a peculiar sense of bewilderment by the majority of people in Lunars Hall.
Adjudicators Brian Buckley and Kevin Wadsworth though were perfectly clear in their opinion making, with Brian informing the audience that although there was little to choose between the top four bands on the day, the need to retain cohesive appreciation of the difficult score was essential in overcoming the difficulties posed by Bruce Broughton’s ‘California Legend’.
He spoke of the need to maintain accurate tempos, rhythmic precision and patterns – something that both he and Kevin felt earmarked the winner’s performance from the number 6 draw in the eight band field.
And it was Haydock under the direction of Mark Quinn who did that best, to take home with them the £2,500 top prize ahead of second placed Barnsley Building Society, conducted by Rob Straw, with Haslingden & Helmshore, directed by David Holland in third.
There was a real gasp of surprise in the auditorium though as Rainford, under the direction of the experienced Graham O’Connor, didn’t find the same appreciation in the box of their confident efforts as it seemed it did after they played as the penultimate band of the contest. The North West band had to be content with fourth place.
Impressive win in Third Section:
There was an immensely impressive winner in the Third Section, where Uppermill took the £2,500 top prize with a commanding performance of Philip Wilby’s ‘Partita for Band (Postcards from Home)’ to make it four Pontins titles in a row for Alan Widdop and his band.
After two wins in the Fourth Section in 2007 & 2008 and last year’s victory in the Third, the North West band completed their 2010 season with a victory described by the adjudicators Paul Holland and Dr Roy Newsome as ’quite outstanding’ and ‘clear cut’.
A delighted MD paid fulsome tribute to his players, calling them ‘fantastic’, before looking forward to a 2011 season in the Second Section and some well earned Saturday night celebrations.
With such clear winners, the judges told the audience that the bands in second to fifth place could have come in just about any other order on another day – such was the inconsistency of execution that was on display.
And although the judges admitted the test piece had certainly been a challenge, overall they were generally impressed by what they heard.
In second place came a bold performance from a delighted Hawk Green (Marple) conducted by Neil Hewson whilst the final podium place went to a confident sounding Hoover (Bolton) directed by Trevor Halliwell.
Succesful defence in Fourth Section:
Meanwhile, a little way across the newly refurbished Holiday Camp, Hazel Grove, conducted by Nigel Beasley celebrated a second successive Pontins victory on Saturday afternoon by taking the Fourth Section title is commanding style.
The 2009 winners and current National Champions, produced a fine performance of Alan Fernie’s descriptive set work, ‘A Caledonian Journey’ to retain their title and take the £2,500 first prize.
Adjudicators Roy Sparkes and Major Peter Parkes were in no doubt about the quality of the winners, describing their performance as having ‘real quality’.
The adjudicators were impressed by the overall standard of performances on the day. Roy described the piece as ‘quite a test’ despite its deceptively simplistic construction. Peter Parkes remarked that he had enjoyed what he thought was ‘an excellent contest’, on a piece that certainly ‘sorted out the best bands from the rest’.
And the best for them was Hazel Grove, although they were eventually pushed hard for their victory by a delighted Dronfield CMW under the direction of John Davis, who started a long day of contesting for themselves (they were later to play in the Third Section too) by picking up £1,200 as runner up.
The final podium place was taken by Harrogate runner up, Besses Boys conducted by James Holt whilst there was real delight for Onchan Silver who made the most of their trip over from the Isle of Man to come fourth.
Harry and Margaret Mortimer Championship
Sunday 24th Ooctober 2010
Venue: Fun Factory Ballroom
Draw: Pre-drawn
Commence: 11.00am
Test Piece: Les Preludes — Liszt — Transcribed by Bram Gay
Adjudicators: Dr. Roy Newsome and Major Peter Parkes
1. Marsden Silver Prize, Glyn Williams, 13
2. St Dennis, Darren Hawken, 1
3. Jaguar (Coventry), Dave Lea, 15
4. Blackburn & Darwen, Nick Sheppard, 8
5. Wakefield Metropolitan, Norman Law, 4
6. Ashton-under-Lyne, Martyn Evans, 11
7. Northop Silver, Thomas Wyss, 6
8. Staffordshire, Huw Thomas, 12
9. Pemberton Old Wigan DW, Mark Bentham, 5
10. Friary Guildford Brass, Chris King, 10
11. Newstead Brass, Duncan Beckley, 7
12. GT Group Peterlee, Stephen Malcolm, 9
13. Old Silkstone, Chris Hirst, 14
14. BTM, Tom Davoran, 2
15. Norfolk Brass, David Stowell, 3
Youngest Player in the Section: James Dowrick (St Dennis) — aged 14
Best Instrumentalist: Dale Garner (Marsden Silver)
First Section
Saturday 23rd October: 2010
Venue: Fun Factory Ballroom
Draw: Pre-drawn
Commence: 11.00am
Test Piece: Flamborough Seascapes — Darrol Barry
Adjudicators: C. Brian Buckley and Kevin Wadsworth
1. Jackfield (Elcock Reisen), Simon Platford, 7
2. Staines Brass, Melvin White, 3
3. Oldham Band (Lees), John Collins, 9
4. Longridge, Mark Peacock, 5
5. Wrexham Brass, Wayne Ruston, 8
6. Barton Town, Garry Oglesby, 6
7. Lindley, Neil Jowett, 4
8. City of Sheffield, David Holling, 1
Chalford, Steve Tubb (pre-drawn 2) withdrew
Youngest Player: Rhys Taylor (Longridge) — aged 11
Second Section
Sunday 24th October 2010
Venue: Lunars Hall
Draw: Pre-drawn
Commence: 11.00am
Test Piece: Californian Legend — Bruce Broughton
Adjudicators: C. Brian Buckley and Kevin Wadsworth
1. Haydock, Mark Quinn, 6
2. Barnsley Building Society, Rob Straw, 4
3. Haslingden & Helmshore, David Holland, 2
4. Rainford, Graham O'Connor, 7
5. Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen Silver, Glyn Davies, 8
6. Leicestershire (Snibston), Graham Jacklin, 5
7. Downshire Brass, Michael Alcorn, 1
8. Wellington (Telford), Mark Phillips, 3
Youngest Player: Harry Handford (Wellington Telford) — aged 12
Third Section
Saturday 23rd October 2010
Venue: Lunars Hall
Draw: Pre-drawn
Commence: at the conclusion of the Fourth Section 2.30pm approx.
Test Piece: Partita for Bands (Postcards from Home) — Philip Wilby
Adjudicators: Dr. Roy Newsome and Paul Holland
1. Uppermill, Alan Widdop, 11
2. Hawk Green (Marple), Neil Hewson, 3
3. Hoover (Bolton), Trevor Halliwell, 6
4. Crofton Silver, Tim Sidwell, 5
5. Pemberton Old DW 'B', Peter Ashley, 9
6. Trinity Girls, Stuart Barton, 4
7. Dronfield CMW, John Davies, 10
8. Shirebrook Miners Welfare (Unison), Mark Wilcockson, 1
9. Chalgrove, Terry Brotherhood, 2
10. Ogmore Valley Silver, Miss A. Jones, 7
Youngest Player: Richard Blythe (Uppermill) — aged 11
Greenalls, Karl Stott, (withdrawn)
Fourth Section
Saturday 23rd October 2010
Venue: Lunars Hall
Draw: Pre-drawn
Commence: 9.00am
Test Piece: A Caledonian Journey — Alan Fernie
Adjudicators: Roy Sparkes and Major Peter Parkes
1. Hazel Grove, Nigel Beasley, 4
2. Dronfield CMW, John Davis, 3
3. Besses Boys, James Holt, 16
4. Onchan Silver, Paul Dunderdale, 2
5. Thurcroft Welfare, Ken Vernon, 1
6. Farnworth & Walkden, Peter Ashley, 15
7. Boarshurst Silver, David Ashworth, 6
8. Nelson Brass, Steve Brodie, 12
9. Darwen Silver, Steve Hartley, 8
10. Blackley, Adrian Smith, 13
11. Golborne, Jason Smith, 7
12. Littleborough Public, Adrian Woodhead, 5
13. Cold Ash Silver, Steve Sizeland, 11
14. Worsborough Brass, John Hopkinson, 9
15. Denton Brass, Colin Myers, 10
16. Barnton Silver, Brian Lamb, 14
Youngest Player: Gregory Halliday (Onchan Silver) — aged 9
