There was an excellent day of ambitious own choice music making at the Marine Hall in Fleetwood on the weekend, where the generous prize fund gave rise to a high standard of performance from competing bands.

Sponsored by R. Banks & Son (Funerals Ltd) and organised by Lancashire Contests, 23 contenders took to the stage in the five sections, from youth to championship, as they tried to catch the ear of adjudicators Mike Kilroy and Paul Andrews.

Warriner brings sunshine to Morecambe

The competing bands certainly stretched themselves in the Championship Section, where Morecambe put behind them their recent disappointment at the First Section National Finals in Cheltenham to record a fine win under the baton of Andrew Warriner.

Their solid reprise of Gavin Higgins’s, ‘Fanfares and Love Songs’ saw them claim the Parr Hall Trophy and £400 first prize, with their excellent tuba section picking up the ‘Best Basses’ Award and the MD adding the Stuart Pullin Memorial Trophy to his collection.

Off the number 1 draw, it proved good enough to repel the strong challenge of Rainford, who delivered a purposeful account of ‘Rocco Variations’ under Gareth Brindle, with VBS Poynton opting for ‘Red Priest’ directed by Neil Samuel in third.

With City of Bradford giving a colourful rendition of ‘Year of the Dragon’ and Flixton producing a detailed account of ‘Dances & Arias’, featuring a fine ‘Best Euphonium’ contribution from Danny Lowery, there was plenty for the experienced Mike Kilroy to compare and contrast in the box.

Besses Boys triumph

The top man at Brass Bands England also had a great deal of musical variation to enjoy in the Second Section, where an excellent performance of ‘Three Part Invention’ by Kenneth Downie gave Besses Boys the Squire Eccles Memorial Trophy and the £400 first prize under the baton of James Holt.

The Besses bass section also picked up the George Hayes Trophy for their fine contribution, with the MD claiming the George Atherton Trophy to put on his mantelpiece at home.

A solidly portrayed account of ‘Kingdom of Dragons’ gave Eccleston second place under Daniel Brooks, with Farnworth & Walkden’s ‘Purcell Variations’ directed by Peter Ashley in third.

Old Hall on fire

A commanding performance Stephen Bulla’s ‘Firestorm’ gave Old Hall Brass the Third Section honours of the Carol Baker Memorial Trophy and £400 first prize.

Led impressively by MD John North, the band also won the ‘Best Percussion’ award and the newly instigated ‘Sarah Gardner Trophy’, presented in memory of the fine young horn player and mother who died this year, and won by Old Hall’s solo horn player, Sarah Baxendale.

Darwen Brass produced a fine account of ‘Portrait of a City’ to come second conducted by Steve Hartley, with Blackpool Brass in third directed by Tariq Ahmed, thanks to their exciting rendition of ‘Dark Side of the Moon’.

Tarleton triumph

Although there was just the four bands in the Fourth Section, the ambitious quartet certainly gave adjudicator Paul Andrews plenty of fine playing to enjoy – especially from the winners, Tarleton Brass.

Under the direction of Gillian Bould they produced an excellent performance of ‘Pennine Moors’ to claim the Pamela Baxendale Trophy and £400 first prize, with their youngest player Emma Mawdsley presented with an Arban Tutor as her James Ogden Scholarship prize.

Thornton Cleveley’s bold choice of ‘Olympus’ saw them end second under Stephen Simpson, with Pilling Jubilee Silver reprising their recent Cheltenham test piece, ‘A Malvern Suite’ to come third, with their euphonium player Duncan Whyatt winning the ‘Best Euphonium’ prize.

Stockport takes youth title

Paul Andrew was in the open to enjoy the excellent performances from the three bands in the youth section, where Stockport Schools Brass under Tim Dines produced an outstanding performance of ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ to take the Stan Winter Memorial Trophy and £400 first prize.

The band’s fine tuba section took the ‘Best Basses’ award, whilst the ‘Best Tenor Horn’ prize went to the horn section of Wigan Youth Zone. Their youngest player, Olivier Banks was presented with an Arban Tutor as her Squire Eccles Scholarship prize.

Macclesfield Youth (with 48 players on stage) under Louise Renshaw was second thanks to their cracking performance of ‘Like a Child’, with Wigan Youth Zone in third under John Don-Duncan with ‘Music for a Festival’.

Lancashire Contest spokesperson Frank Hodges was happy that the contest day ran smoothly thanks to the hard work of his organising committee. “We would have liked to have been able to fill up each of the sections, but once again the bands produced an excellent standard of music making. We are also very grateful once again to our sponsors and to those who came to support the event.”

Before the announcement of the results Mike Kilroy made a presentation on behalf of the North West Brass Band Association to Helen Hall and Shelley Hallett of Pilling Jubilee Silver Band in recognition of their 25 years of dedicated service to their band since joining as teenagers in 1988.

Results:

Championship Section:
Adjudicator: Mike Kilroy

1. Morecambe (Andrew Warriner)
2. Rainford (Gareth Brindle)
3. VBS Poynton (Neil Samuel)
4. City of Bradford Brass (Lee Skipsey)
5. Flixton (Stephen Curtis)

Best Basses: Morecambe
Best Euphonium: Danny Lowery (Flixton)

Second Section:
Adjudicator: Mike Kilroy

1. Besses Boys (James Holt)
2. Eccleston Brass (Daniel Brooks)
3. Farnworth & Walkden (Peter Ashley)
4. Pemberton Old Wigan DW B (Peter Ashley)

Best Basses: Besses Boys

Third Section:
Adjudicator: Paul Andrews

1. Old Hall Brass (John North)
2. Darwen Brass (Steve Hartley)
3. Blackpool Brass (Tariq Ahmed)
4. Parr Band St Helens (John Ludden)
5. Skelersdale (David Chapman)
6. Lostock Hall Memorial (Philip Edwards)
7. Eagley (Matthew Ryan)

Best Percussion: Old Hall Brass
Best Horn: Sarah Baxendale (Old Hall Brass)

Fourth Section:
Adjudicator: Paul Andrews

1. Tarleton Brass (Gillian Bould)
2. Thornton Cleveleys (Stephen Simpson)
3. Pilling Jubilee Silver (Len Charncok)
4. Denton Brass (Marcus Jones)

Best Euphonium: Duncan Whyatt (Pilling Jubilee Silver)
Youngest Player: Emma Mawdsley (Tarleton Brass)

Youth Section:
Adjudicator: Paul Andrews

1. Stockport Schools Brass (Tim Dines)
2. Macclesfield Youth (Louise Renshaw)
3. Wigan Youth Zone (John Don – Duncan)

Youngest Player: Olivier Banks (Wigan Youth Zone)
Best Basses: Stockport Schools Brass
Best Tenor Horn: Wigan Youth Brass horn section

All prizes in each section:
1st: £400; 2nd: £200; 3rd: £150