Virtuosi GUS finally claimed the title of All England Masters International Champion after an emphatic victory at the Lighthouse Theatre in Kettering on the weekend.

Under the baton of MD Adam Cooke, and at their 22nd attempt, the local favourite imposed its ensemble and solo class on Gilbert Vinter's 'Salute to Youth' that brokered little room for argument from the rest of a well beaten field of rivals.

With euphonium star David Daws taking the 4BR 'Best Instrumentalist' award and Chris Jeans the Maxwell Thornton 'Best Trombone Prize', only the merest flicker of discomfort in the opening section troubled their progress to the £3,000 first prize.

Nothing but very good

In a rendition described as 'nothing but very good' and 'an outstanding performance that blended splendid detail with musical character' by adjudicators Mark Wilkinson and Stephen Roberts, it also gave Virtuosi GUS a clean sweep of all the available silverware, with their young MD also receiving the Stanley Boddington Trophy as winning conductor.

With the judges later confirming that their victory had been 'very clear cut', it was Milnrow who pushed the Midlanders closest as they claimed the £1,500 cheque as runner-up, with Northop Silver in third.

The final prize winning performance came from Hammonds Saltaire, ahead of top six finishers Zone Brass and Lydbrook.

Clear cut winner

"They were a very clear cut winner,"Stephen Roberts later said. "That ability to combine technical assuredness with musical characterisation is a mark of a very good band. It wasn't flawless by any means, by it had such a clear stamp of quality."

Mark Wilkinson agreed: "We had no trouble picking the winners — the consistency of their performance in all three movements stood out. Others had their moments, but only GUS showed that quality over the entirety of the piece. It was close between second, third and fourth, but the winners were a good margin ahead."

Determined development

Disappointingly for the organisers, the withdrawals of Newstead Brass, Blackburn & Darwen and Thoresby Colliery meant that with just 14 bands, the contest was all over by mid afternoon, although Philip Biggs and Richard Franklin later told 4BR that they are determined to develop the strength of the competitive field in future years.

"The contest enjoyed an encouraging return this weekend,"Philip told 4BR. "We will continue to work hard to develop the Masters with the support of excellent sponsors and growing interest from bands and supporters."

Centre of thoughts

Development was very much at the centre of the thoughts of the winning MD, as Adam Cooke told 4BR that the victory has given a young Virtuosi GUS a timely boost of confidence following the disappointment of missing out on qualifying for the British Open at the recent Grand Shield contest in Blackpool.

"We are still developing as a band — and I think that was shown both at Blackpool and here,"he said.

"There is such amazing potential and a great mix of youth and experience — with our outstanding soloists such as David and Chris being supported by some amazing teenagers. The future for the band looks and sounds great. It may have taken us a while to win this title — but we are determined to add to it in the coming years."

He added: "We didn't quite play to level we knew could at the Grand Shield so we were determined to put that right today. The pressure was on us as favourites, but the band delivered superbly and showed its quality. We will continue to build on this for the National Finals and Brass in Concert."

Headaches

That may well be a mantra heard in many of their rival's bandrooms after Gilbert Vinter's pensioner age work caused the type of headaches usually reserved for youthful teenagers after their first encounter with too many bottles of cheap cider.

The lack of ensemble cohesion (especially the soprano/cornet echo fanfare) in the 'Resilience' opening, harsh tonality in the 'Romance' and poor technical execution in the 'Relaxation' finale made for a disappointing overall standard — not helped by a depressing litany of incomprehensible wrong notes and incoherent tempo choices: Many of the bands were certainly not 'Masters' in any sense of the word.

Milnrow and Northop boost

With Virtuosi GUS a class apart, Milnrow and Northop Silver will have returned home boosted in confidence as they look forward to their forthcoming appearances at the British Open and National Finals respectively.

Hard working performances elicited by Mark Bentham and Mareika Gray enabled them to secure well deserved podium finishes, just ahead of an engaging effort from the Symphony Hall bound Hammonds Saltaire under Morgan Griffiths.

Encouragement too for Zone One Brass, as they continue to impress under Richard Ward, even if they just sounded a rehearsal or two away from a possible podium finish, whilst a delighted Lydbrook will have given themselves a huge confidence injection after their solid rendition directed by Tom Davoren finished sixth.

Growing chasm

Behind them though, yet more evidence of the growing chasm opening up in Championship Section banding: Wantage, Brass Band Heist, Aveley & Newham and Brass Band Leieland delivering inconsistent accounts to finish in the top ten ahead of disappointing efforts from the rest of well beaten contenders.

With time in hand to enjoy the deserved presentation of the 'Masters Dedicated Service Award' to former City of Coventry principal cornet Brian Clarke and for the talented Thomas Fountain to entertain the still rather sparse audience before the results, it remains clear that the All England Masters International Championship has yet to regain the lustre of critical acclaim that made its name in years gone by.

However, with the determined approach of the organisers to persuade more bands of the quality of the newly crowned champion, Virtuosi GUS to compete once more, it could well become such a contest again.

They were a very clear cut winner. That ability to combine technical assuredness with musical characterisation is a mark of a very good bandStephen Roberts

Results:

Sunday 24th May
Test Piece: 'Salute to Youth' — Gilbert Vinter

Adjudicators: Stephen Roberts & Mark Wilkinson

1. Virtuosi GUS (Adam Cooke)
2. Milnrow (Mark Bentham)
3. Northop Silver (Mareika Gray)
4. Hammonds Saltaire (Morgan Griffiths)
5. Zone One Brass (Richard Ward)
6. Lydbrook (Tom Davoren)
7. Wantage Silver (Philip Bailey)
8. Brass Band Heist (Bert van Thienen)
9. Aveley & Newham (John Ward)
10. Brass Band Leieland (Walter Loose)
11. 1st Old Boys Association Silver (Stephen Cairns)
12. Co-operative Funeralcare (North West) (Jef Sparkes)
13. Medway (Melvin White)
14. Tylorstown (Garry Davies)

4barsrest.com soloist award: David Daws (euphonium) Virtuosi GUS
Trombone: Chris Jeans, Virtuosi GUS

Withdrawn:

Blackburn & Darwen (Huw Thomas)
Newstead Brass (Duncan Beckley)
Thoresby Colliery (Brian Grant)