There was another fine day of music making and friendly competition at the 9th Holme Valley Solo & Ensemble Competition, which took place in Hade Edge's bandroom on the weekend.

Adjudicator, Leigh Baker had the enjoyable task of sifting through 38 performances representing 13 different bands, organisations and schools, with lots of new music to enjoy throughout the day.

Impressed

Whilst still low on the younger age group entries, Leigh was highly impressed with the standard shown, especially from young baritone player Skye Stokes.

Skye not only won the '11 & under' and '14 & under' sections, but also picked up the runners-up Ensemble prize with dad, Nick, and the new award for 'Most Promising Player', kindly donated by Huddersfield & Ripponden Band, and presented on their behalf by Paula Fisher.

Paula also presented a second new award from the band for the 'Junior Champion', which went to 15 year old Lucy Heeley.

Lucy is already a member of the front row at Carlton Main Frickley Colliery and a talented young player. She also collected the '18 & under' award and 'Junior Air Varie' and 'Best Cornet of the Day' awards before dashing off to play with the band at an evening concert.

Well supported

The well supported senior sections saw two outstanding performances from Brighouse & Rastrick's bass trombone player, Steve Lomas to take both the 'Open Slow Melody' and 'Air Varie' awards, as well as the accolades for 'Overall Champion', 'Best Trombone' and 'Most Musical Performance' of the day.

Steve was pushed hard by the experienced duo of Patricia Woodings ('Best Horn') and Tommy Tynan ('Best Bass').

The ensemble section concluded the day, providing a wide range of formats and music. Ultimately it was the 'Trombone Choir' from HD9 Community Brass that took away the title with the Stokes family 'Dad & Daughter' duet as runner-up with Wakefield Girls' High School Quartet in third.

Great day

Organiser Graham Bates told 4BR: "It's been a great day meeting friends old and new in a totally relaxed environment. The date change from June to November has worked with over 50% more entries but we still need to find a way of encouraging more youngsters.

You only have to look at the likes of Skye and Lucy to see how much benefit they get from entering this type of event."

The date change from June to November has worked with over 50% more entries but we still need to find a way of encouraging more youngstersGraham Bates

Results:

11 & Under Slow Melody:

1. Skye Stokes (Barnsley Metropolitan)
2. Rhys Stokes (Barnsley Metropolitan)
3. Phoebe Jones (Huddersfield Youth)

14 & Under Slow Melody:

1. Skye Stokes (Barnsley Metropolitan)
2. Phoebe Jones (Huddersfield Youth)
3. Glyn Stokes (Independent)

18 & Under Slow Melody:

1. Lucy Heeley (Carlton Main Frickley Colliery)
2. Matthew Sykes (HD9 Community Brass)
3. Ruth Gardiner (Wakefield Girls' High School)

Open Slow Melody:

1. Steve Lomas (Brighouse & Rastrick)
2. Patricia Woodings (Ratby)
3. Tommy Tynan (Oldham Lees)

Veterans:

1. Patricia Woodings (Ratby)
2. Chris North (Lofthouse 2000)
3. Davina Holt (Vintage Brass)

Air Varie/Technical:

1. Steve Lomas (Brighouse & Rastrick)
2. Tommy Tynan (Oldham Lees)
3. Patricia Woodings (Ratby)

Ensemble:

1. HD9 Trombone Choir
2. Skye & Nick Stokes
3. Wakefield Girls' High School Quartet

Special Awards:

Junior Air Varie: Lucy Heeley
Junior Ensemble: HD9 Trombone Choir
Best Cornet/Soprano: Lucy Heeley
Best Horn/Flugel: Patricia Woodings
Best Euphonium/Baritone: Matthew Sykes
Best Trombone: Steve Lomas
Best Bass: Tommy Tynan
Most Promising Player: Skye Stokes
Junior Champion: Lucy Heeley
Champion of Champions: Steve Lomas
Outstanding Musical Performance: Steve Lomas