An impressively delivered 20 minute entertainment programme from Burry Port claimed the Championship Section Welsh National Eisteddfod title in Llanelli on Sunday.
Under the direction of Michael Thorne it was the third time in their history that the West Walians have carried off the famous trophy and £750 first prize following victories in 2002 and 2006, and gave them a huge confidence boost as they build towards another ‘National’ appearance — this time at the Royal Albert Hall in October.
Title success
Traditionally, the brass band contests are the first to be featured in the main tented auditorium on the Maes, with Saturday seeing Royal Oakeley take the Fourth Section honours, followed by Ebbw Valley and Blaenavon claiming the Third and Second Section titles respectively.
With each contest broadcast live (although with some cutting of content) on the S4C television channel, and with critical analysis and interviews from the likes of Tredegar principal cornet Dewi Griffiths, Julian Jones, Rhys Taylor and rugby legend Robin Kilbride, there was plenty for the audience at home, as well as the ‘open’ contest judges, Melvin White, Dave Hayward and Gary Davies to be entertained by.
Championship
The Championship/First Section contest took place on Sunday lunchtime, with Burry Port following on stage reigning champion Deiniolen, directed by Lois Efion, who delivered a bold defence of their title by rounding off their programme off with ‘Fire in the Blood’, to eventually finish third.
Burry Port was equally impassioned with PLC compositional fervour however, with the choreographed ‘Enter the Galaxies’, followed by the euphonium solo ‘Ar Lan Y Mor’ played by Chris Smith.
The cornet feature ‘Hora Staccato’ was balanced with Tom Davoren’s sparkling treatment of the Welsh hymn tune ‘Rachie’ — ‘I Bob Un’.
It was left to 2012 champion City of Cardiff (Melingriffith) to push their rivals all the way to the finishing line, with a slickly delivered programme under MD Gareth Ritter that opened with the choreographed ‘Blackbird Special’ and ended with the Welsh hwyl of Matt Hall’s ‘Calon y Ddraig’.
Delighted
An understandably delighted Burry Port Chairman Graham Howe told 4BR that the victory gave the band a great foundation on which to build on as they prepare to their first appearance at the Albert Hall since 2006.
“It’s just what we came to do, and sets us up nicely to start preparing for London” he said. “It was good to have our principal guest conductor Mike Thorne to direct us — as it was also his third Eisteddfod Championship title success.”
He added: “We have a nice balance of youth and experience in the band now, with players like Chris Smith starting to make a name for himself as a top class soloist, so we are really looking forward to our Albert Hall return.”
Second Section:
Another band with a National Finals appearance to look forward to also came away from Llanelli with title winning silverware to polish, as Blaenavon Town took the Second Section honours under the baton of Jamie Jones.
With Cheltenham looming on the horizon, their upbeat 15 minute set that started with ‘Valero’ and ended with ‘Sospan Fach’ also featured a fine solo contribution from principal cornet Lucinda Gough’ on ‘Georgia on my Mind’ as well as ‘Be a Clown’ and ‘Torfaen’ from ‘Kingdom of Dragons’.
It proved good enough to beat off the strong challenge of Ebbw Valley under Gareth Ritter (who earlier won the Third Section with a different programme), with a confident St Athan (who also played in two sections with different programmes) led by Nigel Seaman in third.
Handy
“The £400 first prize will certainly come in handy,” Blaenavon Secretary Paul Miles told 4BR.
“We felt that this would be a good opportunity to build on our recent good form after winning the Welsh Area title. It also gave our youngsters, such as 10 year old kit player Keiron Knight, who are now coming through from our youth band, more contest experience.”
He added: “It’s an exciting time for the band at the moment with the success of our recent weekend Summer School providing us with more young players to help develop, so Cheltenham can’t come soon enough.”
Third Section:
One of Welsh banding’s strongest Cheltenham contenders certainly showed their contesting quality in taking the £400 first prize in the Third Section, as Ebbw Valley notched up their ninth victory in their last ten competitive appearances.
Under the direction of Gareth Ritter, the reigning Fourth Section Champion Band of Great Britain warmed up for their Third Section assault at the Centaur Centre with a commanding performance; from the opening ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ and high paced ‘Waltonian’ march to the lyrical horn solo contribution of Tracey Walkerdean on ‘Over the Rainbow’ and a cleverly conjoined ‘Welsh Medley’ based on ‘Men of Harlech’ to close.
It proved to be good enough to claim the title ahead of strong performance sets from rivals Ammanford conducted by Glyn Rhys Davies with St Athan under Nigel Seaman in third.
Enjoy
“We enjoy competing and we enjoy being busy,” the winning MD told 4BR.
“With the National Finals just over a month or so away we wanted to keep building towards that event. It was a fine performance and meant that we can now add this title to the Fourth Section Eisteddfod victory we won last year.”
He added: “That also led onto us winning at Cheltenham — so we hope we can repeat the feat again this year.”
Fourth Section:
There was a wonderful 150th anniversary present to celebrate in the Fourth Section, as Royal Oakeley, formed in 1865, ended a run of four consecutive runner-up places at the contest to claim its first Eisteddfod crown since 2009.
Under the baton of John Glyn Jones, they produced an excellent 15 minute programme set that balanced high energy items such ‘Let Me Entertain You’ and the closing ‘Rhythm Explosion’ with a ‘Men of Harlech’ fanfare and the lyrical hymn tune setting of ‘Swedish Folk Song’, as well as a superb cornet solo from Alan Jones on the Mexican inspired ‘Melody’.
Great record
“We have a great record at the contest with two first now to go with six second places in the last ten years,” Chairman Jim Roberts told 4B.
“It’s a brilliant result for all the hard work the band has put in though — especially with the 150th anniversary celebrations to enjoy later this year.
It was a long journey down to Llanelli this year with a 4.15am start — but it was well worth it, even though by the time we got back we only had the chance of one pint to celebrate the victory!”
He added: “We do lose a lot of players to university each year, but we are building now thanks to John’s great direction. Let’s hope it’s the start of another 150 year of success!”
With an encouraging field of seven competing bands, there was much to enjoy from the other competitors, with Abertillery under James Jones, and Cwmtawe, directed by Wayne Pedrick producing well balanced programmes to claim the podium places.
Highlights
You can see highlights of the winning performances in each section by going to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cymrufyw/28351257
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cymrufyw/28351258
We have a nice balance of youth and experience in the band now, with players like Chris Smith starting to make a name for himself as a top class soloist, so we are really looking forward to our Albert Hall returnBurry Port
Results:
Championship Section:
Adjudicators: Gary Davies, Dave Hayward, Melvin White
Prizes: £750; £450; £300
1. Burry Port (Michael Thorne)
2. City of Cardiff (Melingriffith) (Gareth Ritter)
3. Deiniolen (Lois Efion)
Other competitors:
Llanrug (Paul Hughes)
Markham & District (Gareth Pritchard)
Second Section:
Adjudicators: Gary Davies, Dave Hayward, Melvin White
Prizes: £400; £300; £200
1. Blaenavon Town (Jamie Jones)
2. Ebbw Valley (Gareth Ritter)
3. St Athan (Nigel Seaman)
Other competitors:
City of Cardiff (Melingriffith) 2 (Robin Hackett)
Newtown (Steve Edwards)
Crwbin (Ceri Thomas)
Third Section:
Adjudicators: Gary Davies, Dave Hayward, Melvin White
Prizes: £400; £300; £200
1. Ebbw Valley (Gareth Ritter)
2. Ammanford (Glyn Rhys Davies)
3. St Athan (Nigel Seaman)
Other competitors:
Ogmore Valley (Alice Jones)
Briton Ferry (Jeff Pearce)
Fourth Section:
Adjudicators: Gary Davies, Dave Hayward, Melvin White
Prizes: £400; £300; £200
1. Royal Oakeley (John Glyn Jones)
2. Abertillery & District Youth (James Jones)
3. Cwmtawe (Wayne Pedrick)
Other competitors:
Cwmbran (Jake Pritchard)
Vale of Glamorgan (David Short)
Ystradgynlais (Alex Parker)
Oakdale (Adrian Browning)
