A long awaited return of the North Wales Brass Bands Association annual contest to Llandudno last weekend was marred by the sudden arrival of winter.

Snow free

Three bands rang in to say they were snowed in, but thankfully Llandudno was free of snow and the new ‘Venue Cymru’ proved to be an excellent location for the contest, provided free of charge by Conwy County Council.

Northop, the only band in the top section, took away the prize money and the North Wales Shield having followed their test pieces with a short concert of lighter items to the delight of the audience.

Little difficulty

Adjudicator, Stan Lippeatt, had a little more difficulty picking the prizewinners in the lower sections giving first place to Llanrug in the Second Section and Greenalls Brewery in the Third.

Suffered most

The Fourth Section suffered most from the withdrawals, but still provided a highly competitive contest with Rhyl Silver taking the top prize.

Earlier in the day, Beaumaris Youth and Northop Youth B took first prize in Sections 6a and 6b respectively.

Results
Open Section:

1. Northop (Thomas Wyss)
Best March: Northop
Best Soloist: Rhodri Tomos (Soprano) — Northop

Second Section:
1. Llanrug (Paul Hughes) — 87
2. Greenalls Brewery (Karl Stott) — 84

Best March: Llanrug
Best Soloist: Gareth Hughes (Euphonium) — Llanrug

Third Section:
1. Greenalls Brewery (Karl Stott) — 85
2. Porthaethwy (Chris Williams) — 82
3. Holywell (David Roberts) — 80

Best March: Greenalls Brewery
Best Soloist: Steven Gordon (Euphonium) — Greenalls Brewery
Best Bass Trombone in Sections 2 & 3: James Ball — Greenalls Brewery

Fourth Section:
1. Rhyl Silver (Milne Robinson) — 83
2. Parr (Richardson) (John Ludden) — 82
3. Deeside Silver (Chris Barnes) – 80
4. Llandudno Town (Clive Wolfendale) — 78

Best March: Rhyl Silver
Best Soloist: Martin Halliwell (Soprano) — Parr (Richardson)

Section 6a:
1. Beaumaris Youth (Nick Hughes) — 79
2. Northop Youth A (Aled Williams) — 76
3. Llanrug Youth (Rebecca Roberts) — 74

Best March: Beaumaris Youth
Best Soloist: Bronwen Evans, Flugel, Beaumaris Youth

Section 6b:
1. Northop Youth B (Graham Williams) — 75
2. Deiniolen Youth (Osian Tomos) — 74

Best Hymn: Deiniolen
Best Soloist: Joy Soffe, Percussion, Northop Youth B

Adjudicator: Stan Lippeatt