Championship Section

Illinois opened the championship section with the set piece, On the Shoulders of Giants (Graham). The piece was beyond the band and many of it’s soloists on the day, leaving many wondering if they would’ve faired better in the 1st section. This point was further supported by their own choice piece, Voyage of Discovery, which was 1st section testpiece for the 2006 areas. Although the own-choice piece went much better, the band lacked some balance and had pitch issues throughout.

Atlantic took the stage second and offered a much more clean and vibrant performance. Not only were they able to cope with the challenges of the piece, but were able to provide some musicality, most notably some true pianissimos which hadn’t bee produced in the hall (by all the sections) until that point. Dances and Arias (Gregson) was well-read and provided much musical subtlety. Both pieces were convincingly played, but still left room for another band to finish atop.

Following Atlantic, Fountain City played a blinder on the set piece. The precision in the runs, the overall style and detail were quite impressive and worth of a British Open performance. However, the adjudicators would only slightly favour them over Atlantic on the set piece, which would not be enough to make-up for the difference in the scores on own choice piece. Fountain City reprised their 2008 winning performance of Music of the Spheres (Sparke), with a very skilled technical performance. However, balance was often an issue (as it was with many bands in this hall), with percussion often covering the rest of the band.

Chicago was the final band, and had arguably the most challenging programme (having selected Titan’s progress as their own choice piece). Chicago opened with a solid effort on the set piece. It was not quite up to par with the top two, but one had to think they were still in the hunt. Unfortunately, much like the set piece, Titan’s progress was a bit flat, and they would not be able to catch the top two.

Upon the announcement of the results, their were quite a few gasps when Fountain City were announced second; However, for those whom had listened with impartial ears Atlantics victory may have been a bit unexpected, but it wasn’t a total surprise.

First Section

Central Ohio opened the contest providing a nice band sound, tight ensemble and solid dynamic contrast one would expect from the defending champions. The soprano and basses featured nicely in what was a solid marker from the number one draw.

Next was Princeton set to put up a challenge for the prize and that they did. The set piece (On Ratcliff Highway) had a few imprecise moments, but the band made up for it with a fine effort on their own choice piece (London Overture) which really showed off the strengths of the band. Unfortunately, it would be a tie-breaker on the set piece (two of three judges preferred COBB) that would leave Princeton with 2nd place.

Oakland University returned to the championships for only their second time. Having moved up to the first section, they showed they were certainly capable of the challenge technically and musically, but will need to improve their brass band sound.

Cincinnati made their first appearance in several years, and may have fallen victim to the increased level of competition. Although they had a nice mature sound overall, subtle nuances like dynamic contrast and clarity in technical portions were not up to the competition.

Motor City chose the same program as Princeton, and made a good effort of it lead by some fine playing by their principle cornet. Although there were some balance issues a few bits of sloppy play, they showed great dynamic range (especially in the softer end).

Oakland made a very fine debut (many in the hall had them as the favourites), with a very clean technical performance. The band does not rehearse very often, and it was this lack of ensemble (e.g. individuals sticking out) that may have been their undoing.

Overall

Although not convenient to get to by plane (as adjudicator Steven Mead found out) Grand Rapids was quite a nice city for a contest. A grand hotel and grand concert hall, a bustling night life with piano bars, grand beer selection, hot dog stands, and of course the scenic Grand River…Grand Rapids certainly lived up to its name.

Not only was the city on showcase, but also the bands from Michigan. Capital City won the third section and the three first section bands all provided solid performances and are sure to improve should they decided to return regularly. There was drama in the top two sections as one Goliath fell to David and the other clung to the narrowest of victories.

Championship Section

Set Piece: On the Shoulders of Giants (Peter Graham)

1. Atlantic Brass Band (Salvatore Scarpa), (2), 277
2. Fountain City Brass Band (Dr. Joseph Parisi), (3), 275.6
3. Chicago Brass Band (Dr. Colin Holman), (4), 265.4
4. Illinois Brass Band (Tom Runty), (1) ,255.8

First Section

Set Piece: On Ratcliff Highway (Ray Steadman-Allen)

1. Central Ohio Brass Band (Jessica Sneeringer), (1),  270.4*
2. Princeton Brass Band (Dr. Stephen Allen), (2), 270.4
3. Motor City Brass Band (Craig Strain), (5), 260.2
4. Oakland Brass Band (Neil Barlow), (6), 252.4
5. Oakland University Brass Band (Dr. Kenneth Kroesche), (3), 251
6. Cincinnati Brass Band (Anita Cocker Hunt), (4), 249.4

*Tie breaker on best score on set piece

Second Section

Set Piece: Penlee (Simon Dobson)

1. Natural State Brass Band (Russell Morris), (1), 263

Third Section

Set Piece: Haydock Variations (Stuart Pullin)

1. Capital City Brass Band (Dr. Kenneth Kroesche), (1), 261
2. Bend In the River Brass Band (Faril Bunner), (2), 253

Senior Solos

1. Stan Smith (cornet), Fountain City
2. David Kuehn (soprano), Georgia
3. Ron Stinson (cornet), Fountain City

Youth Solos

1. Sam Teeple (Tuba), Oakland University
2. Hannah Barnes (cornet), Illinois

Percussion Solos

1. Christopher Howard (marimba), Fountain City
2. Theodore Musick (marimba), Fountain City
3. Daniel Heffner (xylophone), Chicago

Percussion Ensembles

1. Fountain City Percussion Group

Brass Ensembles

1. Fountain City Brass Quartet
2. Atlantic Brass Quintet
3. Aerotropolis (Oakland)

High Brass Slow Melody

1. Dan Bertz (cornet), Princeton
2. William Berndt (tenor horn), Chicago
3. Lieke van Heumen (flugel), Chicago

High Brass Technical

1. Matthew Taton (cornet), Oakland
2. Alvin Benard (cornet), Sunshine
3. Randi Bulla (tenor horn), Potomac

Low Brass Slow Melody

1. Christopher Sayles (trombone), Capital City
2. Lee Harrelson (euphonium), Fountain City
3. Mark Baker (trombone), Princeton

Low Brass Technical

1. Grant Jameson (euphonium), Central Ohio
2. Gregory Battista (euphonium), Fountain City
3. James Borowski (trombone), Princeton