Brass Band Buizingen gave themselves a timely boost of competitive confidence ahead of their appearance at the European Championships in Lille as they retained the Flemish Open title in Mechelen on the weekend.

The contest attracted bands from Holland, Belgium, Switzerland Austria and Germany to the attractive Stadsschouwburg Theatre, with a knowledgeable audience enjoying the performances from the bands in each section.

Strong challenge

Directed by Luc Vertommen Buizingen repelled the strong challenge of Dutch rivals, Brass Band Schoonhoven and Brass Band de Waldsang, by producing a high-class 30-minute programme that included the set-work, 'Behind the Curtain' by Ludovic Neurohr, as well as their own-choice test piece selection of 'Metropolis 1927', the hymn tune 'The Day thou Gavest' and 'Dance Fever' by Kenneth Downie.

It gave the Belgian National Champion a narrow victory over Schoonhoven, who made a welcome return to top-class form under the baton of Ian Porthouse with a fine rendition of 'Red Priest' as part of their set. Just behind them came de Waldsang who took the 'Best Percussion' prize.

In a contest that featured some excellent individual and ensemble performances, Buizingen impressed the judges Jan van der Roost, Jan de Haan, Blaise Heritier with their control, technique and musicality — the elements they will need in abundance as they head on the Eurostar to Lille in just over a week's time.

Fine record

In the B Section there was a solid victory for Brassband de Spijkerpakkenband, as they maintained their excellent record of not coming out of the top two in any contest 2013 under the direction of Erik Janssen.

The band's euphonium player Frans de Haan took the 'Best Instrumentalist' award in a programme that included the set work, 'Log out' by Johan Evenepoel, 'Light Fantastic', their own-choice test-piece, 'A King's Lie' and the hymn tune 'Abide with Me'. Second place went to Brass Band Scaldis with Brass Band Sursilvana in third.

Bazuin victory

In the C Section it was Brass Band De Bazuin B under Jan Werkman who claimed a narrow victory over their Belgian rivals Brass Band Smeermaas and Dutch counterparts Brass Band Gloria Dei.

Their performances of the set-work, 'Light' by Fredrick Schjelderup, plus 'Prelude on Tallis', 'Melting the Ice', 'Eyes of a Child' and their own-choice selection of 'The Mermaid of Zennor' saw them take their first ever Flemish Open title.

Keen challenge

In the D Section victory went to Brass Band Leest conducted by Walter Van de Venne, who beat off the keen challenge of Brass Band Lembeek and Brass Band Harp en Luit. The winning band performed the set-work, 'Ouverture Noire' by Stan Nieuwenhuis as well as 'Simoraine', 'Wonderful Words' and their own-choice selection of 'The Dark Side of the Moon'.

Results:

Section A:
Adjudicators: Jan van der Roost, Jan de Haan, Blaise Heritier

1. Brass Band Buizingen (Luc Vertommen): 95.7
2. Brass Band Schoonhoven A (Ian Porthouse): 94.7
3. Brass Band De Waldsang (Rieks Van der Velde): 93.0
4. Brass Band Heist (Bert Van Thienen): 90.3
5. Oberaargauer Brass Band (Enrico Calzaferri): 89.0
6. Festival Brass Band (Steven Verhaert): 86.3
7. Youth Brass Band Nordrhein Westfalen (Martin Schadlich): 84.3

Best Test-Piece: Brass Band Buizingen
Best Percussion Section: Brass Band De Waldsang

Section B:
Adjudicators: Jan van der Roost, Jan de Haan, Blaise Heritier

1. Brass Band de Spijkerpakkenband (Erik Janssen): 93.0
2. Brass Band Scaldis (Raf Van Looveren): 92.2
3. Brass Band Sursilvana (Roman Caprez): 88.7
4. Brass Band Merum (Patrick Spelthaen): 87.8
5. Mercator Brass Band (Johan De Win): 86.3

Best Set-Work: Brass Band Scaldis
Best Instrumentalist: Frans de Hann (euphonium) Spijkerpakkenband

Section C:
Adjudicators: Jan van der Roost, Jan de Haan, Blaise Heritier

1. Brass Band De Bazuin B (Jan Werkman): 93.5
2. Brass Band Smeermaas (Danny Aerden): 92.8
3. Brass Band Gloria Dei (Piet van der Heide): 92.0
4. Brass Band Constantijn Huygens (Richard Visser): 91.0
5. Youth Brass Band Upper Austria (Karl Geroldinger): 88.7
6. Brass Band David Zwolle (Wilbert Zwier): 86.0
7. Brass Band Burgermusik Untereggen (Stefan Roth): 84.3
8. Namur Wallonia Brass Band (Dominique Bodart): 83.3

Best Set-Work: Brass Band Gloria Dei
Best Instrumentalist: Robert Ernest Principal Cornet Brass Band Constantijn Huygens

Section D:
Adjudicators: Jan van der Roost, Jan de Haan, Blaise Heritier

1. Brass Band Leest (Walter Van de Venne): 89.0
2. Brass Band Lembeek (Hans Goris): 87.3
3. Brass Band Harp en Luit (Maarten Van de Kolk): 84.7

Best Set-Work: Brass Band Lembeek