An innovative 21st century approach to the problems of brass band contesting requirements paid the richest of dividends in the Third Section, as Rivington & Adlington claimed their first ever North West Regional title under the baton of Matt Whitfield.

Formed in 1872 the band has been a stalwart competitor on and off at the event since the 1945, but had never came close to winning — until now that is, as their performance of 'Darkwood' by Dan Price caught the ears of the judges Steve Pritchard-Jones and Glyn Williams to propel them to a historic success.

Still celebrating

It meant that it will be only the second time since in their history that they will proudly represent the region at the National Finals — something that their secretary Janet Taylor was still celebrating when she spoke to 4BR.

"It's been something of a whirlwind since our name was announced off the stage,"she said. "The celebrations were amazing and I don't think we've quite come down from Cloud 9 yet. We've tried so hard over the years here, but to finally win is something to be very proud of."

Innovative approach

Janet also revealed that their innovative approach to solving a conducting problem may also have been the key.

"Our MD Malcolm Wilson has just gained promotion in work so he took the decision to ask Matt Whitfield to come in for the event.

The 'job sharing' meant discussing ideas and working together and the end result has been this victory. It's an approach that suited everyone. Now we're looking forward to Cheltenham and it's great that the local press has already been in touch to features the band's success. We could get used to this!"

And if they play as well once more at the National Finals you never know, as their performance certainly ticked all the boxes for the judges, who said it 'had everything' to beat off the strong challenge of fellow qualifiers Trinity Girls and Formby to claim the Area Trophy.

Clear impressions

Both Steve and Glyn were very clear about their impressions on what they heard throughout the day — with their remarks touched by good natured humour about the difficult acoustic and conditions, balanced by the need to maintain the basics of contest playing before adding the extra ingredient of style.

"Far too many bands never captured the mood of the music, especially in third movement,"Glyn said. "At this level we are looking for the basics of good ensemble, intonation and balance as the foundation stones. The bands that did that for us were not far away from the top. The top three were very good and the winners had everything — detail, style and solid banding basics."

Meanwhile, Steve made a popular point about the performance conditions which the bands had to also overcome.

"We very nearly heard two performances for the price of one as the band sound bounced around,"he said, as the audience laughed in agreement. "You have to be mindful of the acoustics and conditions, as it's not just the piece itself that needs to be taken into account. It's a great composition, but perhaps more difficult than it looks on the score."

Few disagreements

There were few people in the audience who would have fervently disagreed with either the duo's findings and opinions, although a couple of bands may have felt a touch unlucky that solid sounding performances didn't quite find favour in the box as it did with listeners and supporters in the hall.

The triptych historical portraits of 'Darkwood' certainly required the basics in place before adding a topping of impish mischievousness in the opening 'The Boggart' followed by the hymnal warmth in 'The House on the Hill' and lightweight mechanics of 'Blackley Village' to close, with some bands perhaps letting misplaced enthusiastic volume get the better of them in the swirling, muddied acoustic.

Deserved

City of Chester gave the judges a fine marker off the number 2 draw to eventually end sixth, whilst Trinity Girls, who followed soon after provided an emphatic performance under Ryan Watkins that deservedly maintained its position almost all the way to the finishing line. With Formby providing another well managed, stylish qualification rendition soon after led by Louise Hough MBE, it seemed that the contest may well have been 'done and dusted' before the halfway point.

It wasn't to be, as after a second half lull for the judges, the late surge for the Cheltenham line came with Greenfield immediately followed by the eventual winners, with Eagley as the last band of the day giving Steve and Glyn food for thought as they produced a merited account to finish fifth.

Usual questions

Behind the top-six it was the usual questions of comparing and contrasting good musical intentions to increasing error counts, although with a couple of bands it may have been more to do with style as the likes of Stalybridge Old , Dobcross and Eccleston failed to find favour with their bold approaches.

However, one band with a very modern approach to solving a 21st century contest problem ended the day celebrating a first that will live long in their collective memories.

"It's been something of a whirlwind since our name was announced off the stage. The celebrations were amazing and I don't think we've quite come down from Cloud 9 yetBand Secretary, Janet Taylor

Result:

Third Section:

Test Piece: 'Darkwood' (Dan Price)
Adjudicators: Steve Pritchard-Jones and Glyn Williams

1. Rivington & Adlington (Matt Whitfield)*
2. Trinity Girls (Ryan Watkins)*
3. Formby (Louise Hough MBE)*
4. Greenfield (Tom Haslam)
5. Eagley (Chris Wormald)
6. City of Chester (Ewan Easton)
7. Pilling Jubilee Silver (Len Charnock)
8. Hawk Green (Neil Hewson)
9. Skelmersdale Prize (James Hall)
10. Farnworth & Walkden (Matt Shaw)
11. Greenalls (Phil Boardman)
12. Eccleston Brass (John Wood)
13. Stacksteads (Fred Bowker)
14. Dobcross Silver (Grenville Moore)
15. Douglas Town (Ken Mitchell)
16. Stalybridge Old (David Ashworth)
17. Littleborough (Adrian Woodhead)
18. Coppull & Standish (Matt Stringer)

*Top three bands qualify for the National Finals in Cheltenham