There was at least one man even happier than a newly married bridegroom at a wedding party in North Wales on Sunday night, as Gwyn Evans took the opportunity to lead the celebrations as the conductor of the 2013 All England Masters International Champions — Seindorf Beaumaris.

News phoned through

Gwyn was sitting in the hotel car park waiting to meet up with the players from his own wedding party jazz group, when the news that his band had beaten 20 rivals to claim the Masters Trophy and £3,000 first prize was phoned through by his ecstatic sister.

She may have been sat miles away in the Lighthouse Theatre in Kettering, but as Gwyn revealed, he could have heard her voice without the help of her mobile phone!

Bloody fantastic

"The only words I could make out to start were ‘Bloody fantastic!’" Gwyn told 4BR as he sat, still alone, waiting to meet up with his group to perform in the post nuptial celebrations.

"Then came ‘We’ve won!’ and the rest of the message that we had become Masters Champions. I couldn’t quite believe it for a moment before it finally sunk in."

He laughed: "Now I’m certain I’ll be the happiest man at this wedding party tonight!"

Title win

Off the number 8 draw, Beaumaris claimed the title ahead of Virtuosi GUS, with Zone One Brass in third.

A delighted Thoresby Colliery was fourth, with reigning champion Tredegar unable to make it a hat trick of Masters wins as they eventually came fifth, ahead of their much fancied South Wales counterparts Tongwynlais Temperance in sixth.

Beaumaris principal cornet Nick Hughes also claimed the 4BR ‘Best Instrumentalist’ prize for his exquisite playing from start to finish on Eric Ball’s ‘A Kensington Concerto’.

Ball passion

Gwyn also revealed that a life-long passion for Eric Ball’s music may have been the key to his band’s success.

"I was brought up on Eric Ball’s music and love it. It’s my cup of tea. I told the band its music that will win out on the day, and I think was proved by our performance.

I may have to celebrate with something a little stronger than a cuppa later tonight – and I know the band is already celebrating on their way home!"

Essence of Ball

Speaking to 4BR after the announcement of the results, David Read MBE revealed that the adjudication team (he was joined by Dennis Wilby and Stephen Roberts) felt the winners were the only band on the day to really evoke the musical essence of the composer’s musical intentions.

"They were a clear winner," he said. "They really captured the spirit of Eric Ball and his music – especially the lightness of touch and style in the Allegro following a lovely opening. It was a very fine performance."

He also added that the judges had greater difficulty in separating out the bands that filled the remaining top six places.

"They were very close indeed," he added. "None really quite managed to play without mistakes – and that just spoilt the style that was needed to be portrayed."

Tribute

The winning MD was delighted to hear what the judges had said, and paid tribute to his band and in particular, his young cornet star, who was also presenteid with the Robert Howard Award as principal cornet of the winning band.

Gwyn added: "Nick has been working his socks off over the last two weeks and has been in the bandroom practicing every night. The band has also worked so hard too — especially the younger players who found the music a bit alien to them to start with. Now they love it."

He added: "This is a wonderful result and another significant step in our progress. We can now look forward to the British Open boosted by being crowned Masters Champion."

Varied quality

In a contest that varied greatly in quality, (the judges revealing that there was a real fall after the top eight places) a purposeful account from Virtusoi GUS under John Berryman as the last band of the day, couldn’t quite see the Butlins champion claim their first Masters success.

They had to be content with the £1,500 prize as runner-up for the second time in three years.

Delight

There was delight for the Londoners of Zone One Brass, as they claimed third place under Richard Ward, with their solo trombonist winning the Maxwell Thornton Award as the ‘Best Trombone’.

Meanwhile, Thoresby Colliery bounced back after their lowly placing at the Grand Shield to post their best ever result at the contest under the direction of Brian Grant.

Disappointment

In contrast, there was to be no hat-trick triumph for reigning champion Tredegar, as a noticeable minor error count put paid to their chances of taking the Masters Trophy back to South Wales for a third consecutive year under Ian Porthouse.

There was also disappointment for Welsh Area champion Tongwynlais Temperance conducted by Steve Sykes, who came sixth, despite catching the fancy of many neutral critics both in the hall and the press box.

Top 10

Marsden Silver put behind them their recent Grand Shield disappointment to end seventh, with former European champion Brass Band Willebroek in eighth. The final top 10 places went to Wantage Silver and the Danish visitors of Concord Brass.

Before the announcement of the results Chris Jeans and Youth Brass 2000 provided a wonderful musical counterpoint with their high energy Glenn Miller programme, before Chris was presented with the All England Masters Dedicated Service Award.

A full retrospective of the contest will appear on 4BR in the next couple of day.

They were a clear winner. They really captured the spirit of Eric Ball and his music – especially the lightness of touch and style in the Allegro following a lovely opening. It was a very fine performanceDavid Read

Result:

Sunday 26th May
Test Piece: 'A Kensington Concerto' — Eric Ball
Draw: 8.45am
Commence: 10.00am

Adjudicators: David Read MBE, Stephen Roberts, Dennis Wilby

1. Seindorf Beaumaris (Gwyn Evans)
2. Virtuosi GUS (John Berryman)
3. Zone One Brass (Richard Ward)
4. Thoresby Colliery (Brian Grant)
5. Tredegar (Ian Porthouse)
6. Tongwynlais Temperance (Steve Sykes)
7. Marsden Silver (Glyn Williams)
8. Brass Band Willebroek (Frans Violet)
9. Wantage Silver (Philip Bailey)
10. Concord Brass (Dennis Aaberg Anderson)
11. Kortijik (Ward de Ketelaere)
12. Friary Guildford (Chris King)
13. Aveley & Newham (Melvin White)
14. Hammonds Saltaire (Morgan Griffiths)
15. Hepworth (Stig Maersk)
16. NASUWT Riverside (Ray Farr)
17. Staines Brass (Melvin White)
18. Skelmanthorpe (John Roberts)
19. Unite the Union (City of Sheffield) (Derek Renshaw)
20. Bournemouth Concert (Captain Dave Barringer)
21. Regent Brass (Alan Duguid)

4barsrest.com Best Instrumentalist Award: Nicholas Hughes — Principal Cornet (Seindorf Beaumaris)

Best Trombone: Zone One Brass