There was a lovely touch of dark-witted humour sung by the players of Black Dyke as they celebrated with their array of title winning silverware on the stage of St George's Hall on Sunday evening.

Instead of the usual banding chorale of 'Championese' in recognition of their 20th Area title, came melodies to 'We're staying up' and 'We're not off to Cheltenham' — as they brilliantly banished memories of last year's disqualification and the distant possibility of relegation to the First Section to the appendices of Yorkshire banding's history books.

Magnified

It was also magnified in spirit as the MD was engulfed in the warm embrace of his players; Prof Nicholas Childs hugged and kissed as he purposefully congratulated each of them individually — especially flugel star Zoe Hancock who won the 'Best Instrumentalist' award.

He knew what victory (his fifth with the band and his 28th in total) meant to them — and they in turn knew exactly what it meant to their inspirational conductor.

Team spirit

"That was a fantastic performance by all my players,"he said as he gripped the Roy Newsome Trophy as winning conductor in his hand.

"They are a team that wins together and loses together, so you can see why this means so much. They gave me everything today — upholding the qualities of musical excellence that has made Black Dyke famous all over the world."

He added: "We have a busy few months ahead now, but this has given us such a great lift. Everyone involved with Black Dyke deserved this success."

Little doubt

Victory was in little doubt as soon as the thumping last note rang out on 'Cambridge Variations' to bring to a close an engrossing contest weekend in Bradford; one that saw the Area produce a series of qualifiers for both National Finals who will travel with high hopes of further success.

The Championship Section was a case in point: Black Dyke joined at the Albert Hall by an equally inspired Carlton Main Frickley, who produced a superb, lyrically inspired rendition of Philip Sparke's test-piece featuring a stunning 'Best Principal Cornet' contribution from Kirsty Abbotts. Her solo brought an audible murmur of appreciation through the hall.

"Bradford brings out the best in us,"a delighted Ray Sykes told 4BR. "Ian McElligott and Russell Gray have been a superb team — and the young players have once again shown everyone just how good they are.

We may not have the financial resources of some, but we have priceless musical ones like Kirsty. Now our focus is to get straight back to the British Open."

Inspired

Just missing out on London was another band inspired by their MD, as Mark Peacock led an impressive Hepworth to their first podium finish since 2011 — helped by the 'Best Soloist' playing of Carol Stephens, who expertly accentuated the clarity and the pitch glissandos on timpani to stunning effect.

Behind them came contrasting emotions from a slightly misfiring Rothwell Temperance and a confident Hammonds Saltaire in fourth and fifth, whilst there were gasps of shock when it was announced that a sixth place finish meant no National return for Grimethorpe.

Surprising

They will not look back on a second successive number 1 draw with any great degree of humour; their hugely surprising result scant reward for a performance that many in the hall had tipped for a podium finish least.

However, with the composer alongside Michael Ball in the box, any grumbles with the overall result will have to be tempered — although fans of Brighouse & Rastrick will also wonder what they did so wrong to end up eighth.

In contrast, fans of newly promoted City of Bradford and Strata Brass will be delighted at their seventh and tenth placed finishes respectively, whilst there could be few complaints about where other rivals eventually finished up.

Defined remarks

The judges made clearly defined remarks: "Coming here reminds me why I got involved in brass bands in the first place,"Philip said, before adding. "There was not one poor performance. The bands at the top all added musical character to the notes which they 'nailed'. At the top end it was magnificent — the winners especially."

Meanwhile, Michael added: "The standard was at times stupefying. It was a pleasure to explore the piece. Everything worked if you got the 'big picture' and didn't get bogged down in the detail. Those who brought out the discourse and dialogue in the music did well. The winner gave a fantastic performance."

Melted away

No doubting where that came from, after contrasting renditions from Grimethorpe and Brighouse melted away in their thoughts off the number 1 and 2 draws.

Carlton Main then set their imposing marker, with Rothwell, Hammonds and Hepworth just failing to be able to overtake them on the qualification road to Kensington Gore as the contest unfolded amid a series of coherent, contrasting interpretations.

No such problem with Black Dyke though, as any thoughts of future trips to Cheltenham were banished with a performance rich in transparent detail and malleable musical flow. It was even the same with their final post-result, laughter-packed chorus of, 'We've got our trophy back."

On this form, others may soon be finding their way to Queensbury.

First Section:

The prelude to the top flight excitement on Sunday came with a keenly fought First Section contest — with promoted Chapeltown Silver surprising more fancied rivals by claiming the title.

Their win was perfectly captured in the emotion of 11 year old Lucy Heeley, who sat on stage as their representative and watched as a happy Hayden Osbourne from Lindley Band took the 'Youngest Player' award.

"He's just two months younger than me,"she said rather forlornly as she waited for the announcement of the results — although her face soon burst into a fabulous smile of delight as she stepped up to be presented with the Regional Trophy.

"I don't mind now!"she said. "This is brilliant. I can't wait to play at Cheltenham again!"

Cheltenham return

Neither can conductor Andrew Dennis and the rest of his band, as they return once more after coming 13th last year in the Second Section.

"It's unbelievable,"he admitted to 4BR. "We wanted to play well, and we really did on stage — it was a great performance from everyone.

I knew the piece well both as a player and conductor and wanted to make all the detail heard. The players give so much to the band — from Lucy herself who plays on the solo cornet bench, to my older stalwarts."

He added: "Now we start the hard work again of fund-raising and thanking our wonderful patrons. That's two Area titles in a row now — so who knows what next year will bring."

Impressive Hatfield

It may well bring promotion to the Championship Section, although before that daunting prospect comes Cheltenham, where they will be joined by impressive qualifiers Hatfield.

Under the direction of the experienced Stan Lippeatt, and with the legendary soprano player Peter Roberts rolling back the years, they delivered a commanding performance to secure their qualification place, whilst a delighted Lindley just missed out in third.

The final top six places in a contest that saw a wide variation in musical approaches from MDs that either found stylistic favour or not in the box, went to Elland Silver, Drighlington (aided by their Belgian 'Best Soloist' Jef Vermerien on cornet) and Knottingley Silver.

Test piece winner

Judges Howard Evans and John Doyle certainly pointed out that Edward Gregson's 'Essay' has been a stern test for the competitors.

"It's a very difficult and challenging work,"Howard said. "There's no hiding place, and the piece was the winner today. It was a hard job for us. Some bands grew in stature as they developed and some fell away — even at the top end of the results. We would have loved to have heard more restraint in the beginning of the second movement: It needed poignancy."

With his usual good humour John added that the winners 'had everything', although he did point out that bands needed to show 'poise' in their playing — from recovering from personal errors to taking a 'chill-pill' to eliminate extraneous noises that spoilt the ensemble musical flow.

Second Section:

Philip Harper's 'The Mermaid of Zennor' may have been inspired by a mythical Cornish love story, but it certainly brought the best out of well-matched Yorkshire rivals on Saturday afternoon — especially according to adjudicator John Doyle.

The Leyland Band star endeared himself to a partisan audience when he stated that the overall standard had been 'fantastic' and that the bands had '…smashed Lancashire'.

Hard to disagree

It was hard to disagree, as he highlighted the quality of the soprano, baritone and even the 'subtle percussion' on not just what he heard, but the way in which competitors had approached the technical and musical difficulties. Fellow judge Philip Sparke called it, 'a wonderful test-piece, full of character', that in his opinion, 'suited the bands here.'

None better it turned out than eventual winners Stannington, who delivered an outstanding rendition full of maturity to claim glory under MD Derek Renshaw.

It was his fourth Yorkshire title — to go with three already won in the First Section — and he is now looking to add to the two Nationals he already has to his name when he leads his band to Cheltenham. On this form they will surely be one of the favourites.

"The band came down from the First Section last year, and I was asked to get involved in November. It's a great match up for me — with players eager to improve and work hard. The organisation is excellent and the commitment as good as any band I've been involved with over the years.

We enjoyed working on the piece and I think if we carry on improving we can be in with a shout at Cheltenham."

Few argue

Few would argue after they produced a performance that brought the Piscean love-story off the page with drama, pathos and excitement in equal measure.

Also making the trip to the Final will be Old Silkstone, as they came runner-up for a second successive year, thanks to boldly delivered rendition under Sam Fisher (who also played for Carlton Main). Their performance was also enhanced by a wonderful 'Best Soloist' contribution from former Frickley euph star Toni Durrant on baritone.

In a contest that certainly lived up to the pre-results vocal admiration from John Doyle, the remaining top six places went to an emotional Horbury Victoria (conducted on just 30 minutes rehearsal time by Phil Godwin, after Duncan Beckley was taken ill on Friday evening), with fine efforts from Skelmanthorpe Prospect, Wakefield Metropolitan and Kippax just behind.

Third Section:

The impressive opening salvos of the weekend were fired with Welsh inspired passion, pathos and playfulness, as a dozen rivals tackled Michael Ball's detailed 'A Cambrian Suite' in splendid fashion.

That was certainly something the judges, Dr Robert Childs and Michael Dodd pinpointed with succinct clarity to just how and why they came up with their results — one that eventually saw the in-form Crofton Silver take the title ahead of fellow qualifiers Dronfield Genquip.

Pitfalls

"It's a great piece, but one with lots of pitfalls,"Bob said. "Those who delivered good dynamics, played together and were in tune were right up there today. They understood the difficulties well — and the winners were quite clear."

Meanwhile, Michael added: "The composer is well known for his clear score markings and instructions. Some bands played a little too fast and loud when it wasn't required. The best brought the piece to life."

The best

The best for the Grimethorpe duo came with Crofton Silver, who added the Yorkshire title to recent success under the baton of Dean Jones at Leicester last year and Butlins in January — and who had to contend with the main auditorium lights mysteriously dimming halfway through their performance.

"I didn't even notice that!"Dean later admitted to 4BR. "One of the players just told me, but it shows just how well they were concentrating that it didn't affect them one bit. This is our third win in a row now and all the credit goes to the players."

Right buttons

He added: "I felt like the bloke just pushing the right buttons on stage — allowing the musical cogs to turn just how I wanted. The score is clearly marked — so I just followed the instructions and left the rest up to them — with a special mention to Andy (Clutton) on principal cornet who was a brilliant 'Best Soloist' winner."

With Dronfield Genquip also giving a fine account to join them at Cheltenham, a neatly portrayed rendition form Oughtibridge just missed out (aided by a percussion team that featured 8 year old Genevieve Heiland), with the final top six places taken by Worsbrough Brass, West Yorkshire Police and BD1 Brass.

Fourth Section:

The colourful adventures of Phileas Fogg certainly made for an enjoyable Fourth Section contest, with a host of Yorkshire tourist bands putting up good cases to win a place at Cheltenham.

In the end though it was the passport stamped by the first to take to the stage that led the way, as Lofthouse 2000 took the honours off the number 1 draw under Andrew Whitaker to beat off the strong challenge of fellow qualifiers, Rockingham conducted by Adam Whittle.

The two rivals also scooped the main awards — with James Whitaker taking the 'Best Soloist' accolade and Rockingham's delighted trio of players taking the 'Best Percussion' prize.

Good standard

"The overall standard was good,"Mike Kilroy told the audience. "The top two really stood out with their musical excellence and technical security. There were fundamental principles to observe with the piece — and the bands at the top end got them right."

Mike did however balance his praise with some critical analysis — pinpointing poor intonation as a recurring problem: "I could have brought a stamp with it written on,"he said.

Meanwhile, John Winterflood also highlighted the forgotten art of the waltz. "A Viennese waltz needs flow — they are quite fast,"he said. "Some were a bit too ponderous and didn't quite get the opening and closing motifs right."

Fleet footed

No such fleet-footed problems with the winners though, with MD Andrew Whitaker telling 4BR that victory came down to the old virtues of hard work and commitment. "Hard graft, team work and dedicated players,"he said. "We develop players and nurture them — and this is the result."

With all the competitors enjoying their trips to Paris, Russia, Vienna, Spain and even Australia, it proved to be a contest that saw every band emerge with credit — with the final podium place taken by Thurcroft Welfare ahead of Huddersfield & Ripponden, Deepcar and Tingley.

New venue

With St George's Hall undergoing a long awaited refurbishment, the 2017 Championships will be held at Huddersfield Town Hall, as the slickly run event led by Peggy Tomlinson (who celebrated 20 years as secretary) and her fine team of volunteers embark on a new, but temporary, era away from the iconic heart of Yorkshire banding.

They gave me everything today — upholding the qualities of musical excellence that has made Black Dyke famous all over the worldProf Nicholas Childs

Results:

Championship Section:
Test Piece: Cambridge Variations (Philip Sparke)

Adjudicators: Michael Ball and Philip Sparke

1. Black Dyke (Prof. Nicholas J Childs)**
2. Carlton Main Frickley Colliery (Russell Gray)**
3. Hepworth (Mark Peacock)
4. Rothwell Temperance (David Roberts)
5. Hammonds Saltaire (Morgan Griffiths)
6. Grimethorpe Colliery (Dr. Robert Childs)
7. City of Bradford (Lee Skipsey)
8. Brighouse & Rastrick (Leigh Baker)*
9. Yorkshire Imperial Urquhart Travel (Stig Maersk)
10. Strata Brass (Dr Owen Wedgwood)
11. Unite the Union (City of Sheffield) (David Hirst)
12. Marsden Silver (John Hinckley)

Best Principal Cornet: Kirsty Abbotts (Carlton Main Frickley Colliery)
Best Soloist: Zoe Hancock (flugel) — Black Dyke
Best Instrumentalist: Carol Stephens (timpani) — Hepworth
Youngest Player: Keir Luc Evans-Brown (aged14) — Strata Brass

*Pre-qualified for the National Final
** Qualify for the National Final

First Section:
Test Piece: Essay (Edward Gregson)

Adjudicators: John Doyle and Howard J Evans

1. Chapeltown Silver (Andrew Dennis)*
2. Hatfield (Stan Lippeatt)*
3. Lindley (Ian Knapton)
4. Elland Silver (Daniel Brooks)
5. Drighlington (John Roberts)
6. Knottingley Silver (Kevin Belcher)
7. Skelmanthorpe (Jim Davies)
8. Cornerstone Brass (Damian Wileman)
9. Hebden Bridge (Alan Hobbins)
10. South Yorkshire Police (Grenville Moore)
11. Hade Edge (Jonathan Beatty)
12. Clifton & Lightcliffe (John Clay)
13. Meltham & Meltham Mills (Norman Law)

*Top two bands qualify for National Final

Best Soloist: Jef Vermeiren (cornet) — Drighlington
Youngest Player: Haydn Osborne (aged 11) Lindley

Second Section:
Test Piece: The Mermaid of Zennor (Philip Harper)

Adjudicators: John Doyle and Philip Sparke

1. Stannington (Derek Renshaw)*
2. Old Silkstone (Sam Fisher)*
3. Horbury Victoria (Philip Goodwin)
4. Skelmanthorpe Prospect (Philip Garlick)
5. Wakefield Metropolitan (Stig Maersk)
6. Kippax (Jack Smith)
7. Slaithwaite (Robert Westacott)
8. Emley (Garry Hallas)
9. Frickley/South Elmsall (Kyle Blake)
10. Barnsley Brass (William Rushworth)
11. Dinnington Colliery (Lindon Bolt)

*Top two bands qualify for National Final

Best Soloist: Toni Durrant (baritone) — Old Silkstone
Youngest Player: Keira Littewood (aged 10) — Dinnington Colliery

Third Section:
Test Piece: A Cambrian Suite (Michael Ball)

Adjudicators: Dr Robert Childs and Michael Dodd

1. Crofton Silver (Dean Jones)*
2. Dronfield Genquip (Simon Kerwin)*
3. Oughtibridge (Gavin Somerset)
4. Worsbrough Brass (John Hopkinson)
5. West Yorkshire Police (Kevin Wadsworth)
6. BD1 Brass (Chris Lewis)
7. Maltby Miners (Terry Clifford)
8. Barnsley Metropolitan (Alex Francis)
9. Armthorpe Elmfield (Hayden Griffiths MBE)
10. Dodworth Colliery M.W. (Eliot J. Darwin)
11. Clifton & Lightcliffe 'B' (John Clay)
12. Wetherby Silver (Michael Crowther)

*Top two bands qualify bands for National Final

Best Soloist: Andrew Clutton (cornet) — Crofton Silver
Youngest Player: Genevieve Heiland (aged 8) — Oughtibridge

Fourth Section:
Test Piece: The Journal of Phileas Fogg (Peter Graham)

Adjudicators: Mike Kilroy and John Winterflood

1. Lofthouse 2000 (Andrew Whitaker)*
2. Rockingham (Adam Whittle)*
3. Thurcroft Welfare (Matthew Wright)
4. Huddersfield & Ripponden (Adam Bell)
5. Deepcar (Cathryn Rogers)
6. Tingley (John Belton)
7. Linthwaite (Tommy Tynan)
8. Friendly Band (Sowerby Bridge) (Neil Robinson)
9. Gawthorpe Brass '85' (John Edward)
10. Loxley Silver (Lee Dunkley)

*Top two bands qualify for National Final

Best Soloist: James Whittaker (cornet) — Lofthouse 2000
Best Percussion: Rockingham
Youngest Player: Robert Thorpe (aged 9) — Rockingham