France awaits its new champion

The French National Championships take place in Lyon this weekend — and 4BR will be there to cover the action.

The second major European National Championship event of the year will take place in Lyon on the weekend when 15 bands take to the stage at the L'Auditorium de Lyon for the 2017 French National Championships.

Progressive musical venues

After the success of the 2016 contest in Lille, the move to the third largest city in France in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region is seen as a bold step by the organisers Confederation Musicale de France to expand the popularity of the event, especially with the 2,000 seat concert hall regarded as one of the nation's most progressive musical venues.

That has seen a number of new bands take to the stage this year in the lower sections, with participants from the Lyon, Dijon, Gironde, Midi-Pyrenees and Moselle areas.

A great deal of national pride will also be at stake, despite the fact that the five time champion Paris Brass Band will not be defending its title due to its busy artistic commitments.

Honneur at stake

The Championship 'Honneur' Division will therefore be a straight fight between previous champions Aeolus Brass Band (winners in 2004, 05, 06 and 07) and the recently re-named Brass Band Hauts de France (formerly Brass Band Nord Pas de Calais) who won the contest in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

They will perform the set-work of Howard Snell's arrangement of Ravel's 'Daphnis and Chloe' and their own-choice test-piece selection on Sunday, with the results ceremony later in the day. The winning band will represent France at the 2018 European Championships Utrecht.

Same format

Meanwhile on the Saturday, the contest will open with the same format for the other sections, with the brace of bands in the Third Division performing their set-work, 'Prelude, Song and Dance' by John Golland and their own-choice test-piece selection.

Five bands will compete in the Second Division, playing 'Partita for Brass Band' by Philip Wilby, with three in the First Division. They will perform 'Chaucer's Tunes' by Michael Ball alongside their choices, whilst the three bands in the Excellence Division will perform 'Orion' by Paul Lovatt-Cooper plus their own-choice work.

The Saturday evening Gala Concert will feature Brass Band Treize Etoiles from Switzerland, whilst the adjudication team is led by Russell Gray alongside, composer Oliver Waespi, Michel Becquet, the principal trombone of the Paris Opera Orchestra.

Coverage

4BR Editor Iwan Fox will be making the trip to Lyon to cover the event, with live coverage of each performance on the 4BR site plus additional Twitter and Facebook inserts, images, results, interviews and full news report.

A great deal of national pride will also be at stake, despite the fact that the five time champion Paris Brass Band will not be defending its title due to its busy artistic commitments4BR