A combination of excellent music making and mind boggling mathematics saw Virtuosi GUS under MD Adam Cooke claim the 2017 Butlins Mineworkers Championship title in thrilling fashion at Skegness on the weekend.

A very impressive own-choice rendition of 'Journey of the Lone Wolf' and a cleverly constructed entertainment homage to a 'Century of Jazz' proved good enough to reclaim the Warwick Vase Trophy and £10,000 first prize for the first time since 2013.

Flowers denied

It also enabled them to deny Flowers the opportunity to make it four wins in a row, despite the defending champion producing their own highly polished account of 'Spiriti' followed by a classily tweaked reprise of their 2016 Brass in Concert 'London Sketches' programme.

Behind them, Desford's solid brace of performances over the two days at the Centre Stage venue saw them end third (and take the Highest Placed Mining Band accolade), whilst there was delight for Friary Guildford.

They headed home in fourth with a prize package of £2,000 and the Butlins 'Most Entertaining Performance Trophy' thanks to their topically pitched 'Europe' set (the town of Guildford voted 'remain' by all accounts in the Referendum).

That post-Brexit approach certainly found favour with the all important entertainment judges of Derek Southcott and Jim Davies — propelling them into the prizes, despite finishing the own-choice discipline in sixth with their rendition of 'Metropolis 1927', and coming seventh in music entertainment.

Algebraic

And it was the algebraic machinations of the final results process that certainly left many people puzzled when the full results were finally revealed, as it transpired that it was the entertainment weighting from Derek and Jim, and not entertainment music, as decided by Peter Roberts and Glyn Williams, that took precedence.

On this occasion it did not directly affect the title outcome — Virtuosi GUS coming 1st and 2nd over both disciplines to deservedly take the honours, but elsewhere the system did raise more than a few eyebrows.

Mathematical puzzlement

It perhaps also accounted for why both fifth placed Woodfalls and Redbridge in sixth left Skegness scratching their heads in mathematical puzzlement as they digested the overall results. Behind them in a good quality contest came Jaguar Land Rover and Haverhill.

However, it will only have been sore heads on Monday morning for the players and supporters of Virtuosi GUS, as they started 2017 by trying to work out how to calculate space requirements in their trophy cabinet for the Warwick Vase to go alongside last season's silverware won at the Masters and Midlands Regional Championship.

High class GUS

On this type of high-class form they should be favourites to maintain their grip on those titles over the coming months, whilst as Band Chairman Nigel Love told 4BR, they will also be looking to reserve just enough space for a qualification invitation envelope to the British Open at the Grand Shield in Blackpool, in May

"It s been a great way to start the year,"he said. "We've a really settled band with a great mix of youth and experience, led by such an outstanding conductor. We are building together: Each contest performance gives us greater confidence and I think that was shown over the two days at Skegness. Now the aim is to build on this for the Area, Grand Shield and Masters."

Judges impressed

Nigel revealed that the different sets of judges were not only impressed by the overall quality of their playing, but also by its diversity in capturing different musical styles.

"The judges noted that on the Saturday with 'Journey of the Lone Wolf' and again in our jazz inspired programme the following day — especially as it showcased works from varied sources such as Shostakovich and Bernstein to traditional and more modern influences."

He added: "We have come close here in the last couple of years, but this was victory built on consistency and working hard together. We will be using this important victory to build on for the rest of the year."

Congratulations

That was also the feeling of Flowers MD Paul Holland as he congratulated Virtuosi GUS on their victory.

"We thought we had done enough to retain the title, but it wasn't to be. Our congratulations go to Adam and Virtuosi GUS for their victory and we look forward to doing battle with them again later in the year."

He added: "I was very pleased at the way my band performed, and a special mention must go to Paul Richards (who won the Geoff Dove 'Best Soloist' award) who was simply brilliant. We will put any disappointment behind us very quickly as we look forward to the Area Championship in Torquay in a couple of month's time."

Heath Robinson

The closeness of the final outcome only became apparent to those at the Centre Stage venue late on Sunday night when the full results were revealed and the complex Heath Robinson workings were finally deciphered.

Representatives of a number of bands later told 4BR that they had not been informed of the exact methodology being employed at the contest, whilst other players and conductors felt that the mix of points and placings simply didn't work — placing as it appeared to them, an undue emphasis on non-musical rather than musical qualities of the entertainment provided.

Fine choices

It will certainly give the hard working organisers food for thought for next year, although Brian Eggleshaw and Stan Lippeatt will have been delighted with the response of the bands in the selection of their own-choice pieces and of their audience friendly entertainment sets.

On the Saturday there was just the one test-piece duplication as MDs showcased their bands talents with intelligently chosen repertoire that saw Peter Roberts and Richard Marshall having to compare and contrast works by Simon Dobson, Thomas Doss and Peter Graham against Thierry Deleruyelle, Edward Gregson and Robert Redhead.

In the end it as Virtuosi GUS that lead the way from Flowers and Desford in the judge's opinion, although there were a number of supporters swayed by engaging renditions from Redbridge and Woodfalls.

Sunday also saw plenty of splendid entertainment on show, as compere Frank Renton expertly led the audience through sets inspired by a century of jazz and a tribute to Europe, to the history of London, a celebration of song and dance, an American extravaganza, elements life and a tribute to Howard Snell.

Quality solo playing

Only Redbridge didn't have a deliberately pitched 'theme', although it was also noticeable that the competitors didn't over rely on distracting video presentations or slapstick 'humour' items.

The quality of solo playing was very good indeed (as were some of the more left field feature choices — from a vocalist to a sax player) with Paul Richards taking the 'Best Soloist' Award with a sublime rendition of 'Feed the Birds' from Mary Poppins — although perhaps the fad for cornet players trying to play jazz trumpet is fast passed its sell by date.

In the end though it was the reliance on musical quality that saw Virtuosi GUS deservedly become 2017 Butlins Mineworkers Champion — confirming the impression that under Adam Cooke they could well be a band to watch out for at other major championship events of the year.

Each contest performance gives us greater confidence and I think that was shown over the two days at Skegness. Now the aim is to build on this for the Area, Grand Shield and MastersVirtuosi GUS Band Chairman, Nigel Love

Results:

Championship Section:

Adjudicators:
Peter Roberts and Richard Marshall (Set Work)
Peter Roberts and Glyn Williams (Entertainment Music)
Derek Southcott and Jim Davies (Entertainment)

1. Virtuosi GUS (Adam Cooke)

Cat A: Own Choice work: (Peter Roberts and Richard Marshall) = 1st

Cat B: Entertainment Music: (93pts) (Peter Roberts and Glyn Williams) = 2nd
Cat C: Entertainment (Derek Southcott): (44pts*) + Entertainment (Jim Davies): (47pts) = (91pts) = 2nd

Cat D: Entertainment Total: 2nd + 2nd = 4

Overall Total: Cat A + Cat D: = Final Position (1 + 4) = 5pts

*Higher Entertainment points from tie break judge takes precedence in event of a tie

2. Flowers (Paul Holland)

Cat A: Own Choice work: (Peter Roberts and Richard Marshall) = 2nd

Cat B: Entertainment Music: (95pts) (Peter Roberts and Glyn Williams) = 1st
Cat C: Entertainment (Derek Southcott): (42pts) + Entertainment (Jim Davies): (49pts) = (91pts) = 3rd

Cat D: Entertainment Total: 1st + 3rd = 4

Overall Total: Cat A + Cat D: = Final Position (2 + 4) = 6pts

3. Desford Colliery (LCITWF) (Michael Fowles)

Cat A: Own Choice work: (Peter Roberts and Richard Marshall) = 3rd

Cat B: Entertainment Music: (90pts) (Peter Roberts and Glyn Williams) = 4th
Cat C: Entertainment (Derek Southcott): (40pts) + Entertainment (Jim Davies): (45pts) = (85pts) = 4th

Cat D: Entertainment Total: 4th + 4th = 8

Overall Total: Cat A + Cat D: = Final Position (3 + 8) = 11pts

4. Friary Guildford (Chris King)

Cat A: Own Choice work: (Peter Roberts and Richard Marshall) = 6th

Cat B: Entertainment Music: (87pts) (Peter Roberts and Glyn Williams) = 7th
Cat C: Entertainment (Derek Southcott): (46pts*) + Entertainment (Jim Davies): (46pts) = (92pts) = 1st

Cat D: Entertainment Total: 7th + 1st = 8

Overall Total: Cat A + Cat D: = Final Position (6 + 8) = 14pts*

*Higher Entertainment points from tie break judge takes precedence in event of a tie with overall total points

5. Woodfalls (Nigel Seaman)

Cat A: Own Choice work: (Peter Roberts and Richard Marshall) = 4th

Cat B: Entertainment Music: (92pts) (Peter Roberts and Glyn Williams) = 3rd
Cat C: Entertainment (Derek Southcott): (35pts) + Entertainment (Jim Davies): (44pts) = (79pts) = 7th

Cat D: Entertainment Total: 3rd + 7th = 10

Overall Total: Cat A + Cat D: = Final Position (4 + 10) = 14pts

6. Redbridge Brass (Jeremy Wise)

Cat A: Own Choice work: (Peter Roberts and Richard Marshall) = 5th

Cat B: Entertainment Music: (88pts) (Peter Roberts and Glyn Williams) = 6th
Cat C: Entertainment (Derek Southcott): (36pts) + Entertainment (Jim Davies): (48pts) = (84pts) = 5th

Cat D: Entertainment Total: 6th + 5th = 11

Overall Total: Cat A + Cat D: = Final Position (5 + 11) = 16pts

7. Jaguar Land Rover (Dave Lea)

Cat A: Own Choice work: (Peter Roberts and Richard Marshall) = 7th

Cat B: Entertainment Music: (89pts) (Peter Roberts and Glyn Williams) = 5th
Cat C: Entertainment (Derek Southcott): (38pts) + Entertainment (Jim Davies): (40pts) = (78pts) = 8th

Cat D: Entertainment Total: 5th + 8th = 13

Overall Total: Cat A + Cat D: = Final Position (7 + 13) = 20pts

8. Haverhill Silver (Mark Ager)

Cat A: Own Choice work: (Peter Roberts and Richard Marshall) = 8th

Cat B: Entertainment Music: (85pts) (Peter Roberts and Glyn Williams) = 8th
Cat C: Entertainment (Derek Southcott): (39pts) + Entertainment (Jim Davies): (41pts) = (80pts) = 6th

Cat D: Entertainment Total: 8th + 6th = 14

Overall Total: Cat A + Cat D: = Final Position (8 + 14) = 22pts

Other Prizes

Highest Placed Mining Band: Desford Colliery (LCITWF)
Most Entertaining Band: Friary Guildford
Geoff Dove Soloist Award: Paul Richards (soprano) — Flowers
Butlins Award for Services to Banding: Richard Evans