There was a fine early season turn out of bands in the North East on the weekend, where there was keen competition to be heard at the Durham County Brass Band Association Contest held at Durham College in Peterlee.

Adjudicator Andrew Warriner had plenty to ponder over in the box with a wide variety of test piece repertoire to cast his ears over.

Solid

In the top section it was Easington Colliery conducted by Chris Bentham who produced a very solid performance of ‘Paganini Variations’ to take the £150 first prize, ahead of rivals GT Group Peterlee who reprised their recent Butlins set work, ‘High Peak’, directed by Joe Cook.

Wansbeck’s Ashington were third with their rendition of ‘Rhapsody in Brass’ led by Davis Kendall.

Easington also bagged a haul of individual silverware too, with prizes for their soprano, trombone, percussion – and their secretary!

In the top section it was Easington Colliery conducted by Chris Bentham who produced a very solid performance of ‘Paganini Variations’ to take the £150 first prize4BR

Frogs

In a keenly fought B Section there was victory for Murton Colliery as they delivered a fine performance of ‘The Frogs of Aristophanes’, which they recently performed at the Mineworkers Championship at Skegness to take the title ahead of a brace of ‘Purcell Variations’ from Durham Miners Association and Houghton Brass.

Clea cut

In Section C there was hard earned clear cut victory for Dunston Silver under the direction of MD Steven Archer, who produced a fine account of Paul Lovatt-Cooper’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ to claim the £150 first prize ahead of a brace of ‘English Folk Song Suite’ performances from Trimdon Concert and Spennymoor Town.

Dunston’s winning performance also gave them a clean sweep of the individual awards on offer to, with the player’s picking up ‘Best’ troms, basses , cornet and euphonium trophies.

Results:

Section A:
Adjudicator: Andrew Warriner

1. Easington Colliery (C. Bentham) – 191
2. GT Group Peterlee (J. Cook) – 188
3. Wansbeck’s Ashington Colliery (D. Kendall) – 184

Best Soprano: Easington Colliery.
Best Trombone: Easington Colliery.
Best Percussion Section: Easington Colliery.
Secretary of Winning Band: Easington Colliery.
Highest Placed First Section Band: GT Group Peterlee.

Section B:
Adjudicator: Andrew Warriner

1. Murton Colliery (A. Seymour) – 188
2. Durham Miners Association (Alan Fernie) – 187
3. Houghton Brass (I. Langthorne) — 186
4. Bear Park & Esh Colliery (A. Hall) -184
5. Billingham Silver (V. Evans) — 183
6. Marske (A. Prest) — 182

Best Principal Cornet: Billingham Silver.
Best Percussion: Durham Miners.
Best Middle of the Band: Durham Miners.
Highest Placed Third Section Band: Bearpark & Esh.

Section C:
Adjudicator: Andrew Warriner

1. Dunston Silver (Steven Archer) – 185
2. Trimdon Concert (J. Robson) — 180
3. Spennymoor Town (J. Davidson) – 179

Best Euphonium: Dunston Silver
Best Trombone Section: Dunston Silver
Best Cornet: Dunston Silver
Best Bass Section: Dunston Silver

Prizes: £150; £125; £100