There was a clean sweep of awards for West of England Area champion Flowers at the recent French Open in Amboise.
Under the direction of Paul Holland they not claimed the overall title for the third time (they also won in 2013 and 2016), but also picked up the march contest accolade and the 'Best Soloist award.
Excellent
It proved to be an excellent warm up for their forthcoming appearance at the Band of the Year contest in Manchester as their performances of the major test-piece, 'Ascension' by Philip Wilby as well as 'Threnody' by Ben Hollings Thomas Fountain on cornet and Jonathan Bates' 'Jacob's Ladder' secured the title by a two-point margin from former French National champions Aeolus Brass Band.
The 25th anniversary event gained widespread media coverage with full news reports appearing in the regional newspaper, 'La Nouvelle Republique'.
A full report will be published as soon as possible.
Results:
Adjudicators: Chris Jeans (President), Luc Vertommen & Nobert Pfammatter
Championship Section:
1. Flowers Band (Paul Holland) — 119
2. Aeolus Brass Band (Benoit Fourreau) — 117
First Section:
1. Brass Band Du Val De Loire (Jerome Genza) — 116
2. Brass Band Atout Vent (William Houssoy) — 114
Second Section:
1. Brass Band Des Pays De Loire (Hans Loirs) — 115
2. Brass Band Avenir De Lignieres (Cyril Perrenoud) — 114
3. Eagley Band (Chris Wormald) — 113
4. Brass Band Helvetia (Yves Sauthier) — 112
5. Brass Band De La Vienne (Mathias Charton) — 111
Fourth Section:
1. Brass Band Oceane (Pascal Piedefer) — 110
2. North London Brass (Andrew Brittin) — 109
Youth Section:
1. Brass Band Du CRR De Tours (David Hubert) — 108
Best Soloist:
Thomas Fountain (Cornet) — Flowers Band
March Contest:
Adjudicator: Peter Collins
1. Flowers Band — 98
2. Aeolus Brass Band — 93
3. Brass Band Du Val De Loire — 90
4. Brass Band Des Pays De Loire — 89
5. Brass Band Atout Vent — 87
6. Brass Band Avenir De Lignieres — 86
7. Brass Band De La Vienne — 81
8. Brass Band Helvetia — 80
9. Eagley Band — 77
10. North London Brass — 76
11. Brass Band Oceane — 71
12. Brass Band Du CRR De Tours — 68
Entertainment:
Public Performance at La Tour Heurtault
Adjudicator: Dan Baker-Collins
Brass Band Helvetia
Entertainment:
Outside Public Performance at Place Michel Debre at Le Chateau
Adjudicator: Peter Collins
Brass Band Atout Vent
