The Brass in Concert Championship has announced the line-up of adjudicators for the 41st Festival, which will be held at Sage Gateshead on Sunday 19th November.

The confirmed panel and their respective roles is as follows:

Quality of Performance: Jan Van der Roost (Belgium) and Lito Fontana (Italy)
Programme Content: Nick Grace
Entertainment & Presentation: Richard Evans and Tom Redmond
Soloists: Ian Bousfield

High quality

Brass in Concert Chairman John Woods told 4BR: "We are delighted to be able to reveal such a high-quality panel for this year's event.

All are vastly experienced professional musicians, with our Quality of Performance adjudicators Jan Van der Roost and Lito Fontana complementing the international flavour of the festival.

For Entertainment & Presentation, Richard Evans, who has conducted nine winning performances at Brass in Concert, will be accompanied by Tom Redmond, who has vast experience in the music and media industries. And as Principal Director of Music of HM Royal Marines, Nick Grace has masterminded many musical programmes for diverse and international audiences and will make an ideal Programme Content judge.

Ian Bousfield needs no introduction, having performed for many years as the principal trombone of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra before concentrating on his work in education."

Dialogue

John also commented on the ongoing dialogue between bands and the organisers of the event over the adjudication system, which has now been in use since 2012.

Quality of Performance accounts for 60 percent of the points allocated, whilst 'Entertainment & Presentation' and 'Programme Content', accounts for 20 percent each respectively. Specific guidelines on the role of each category are now supplied in advance to bands and adjudicators.

Meet

John continued: "After every Brass in Concert Festival, we examine every aspect of the weekend very carefully, and this year we also took the opportunity to meet with competing bands.

As such, with a highly skilled adjudication panel in place, we remain confident that the existing scoring system is the most likely to satisfy the current needs of the event and to preserve its status as the leading entertainment contest in the world."

Meanwhile, John was delighted that this year's event will feature other world class performers.

After every Brass in Concert Festival, we examine every aspect of the weekend very carefully, and this year we also took the opportunity to meet with competing bandsJohn Woods of BiC

Added attractions

He added: "We also have a groundbreaking performance lined up for this year's gala concert, with Cory Band and the award-winning male vocal ensemble Only Men Aloud, plus brass and percussion workshops, taster sessions, and performances by the remarkable Wardle Academy Band and new European Champion, Eikanger-Bjørsvik Musikklag."

4BR understands that further announcements will be made in due course, although tickets for the Festival are already selling well, with people urged to book theirs as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Tickets

Tickets for the Brass in Concert Championship on Sunday 19th November (priced £30.00, £22.00 and £12.00) and World of Brass in Concert (Saturday 18th November — £27.00, £18.00 and £10.00) are available at: www.sagegateshead.com or by calling the Ticket Office on 0191 443 4661. A booking fee will apply.