Following the announcement of the Royal Albert Hall National Final adjudicators, Kapitol Promotions has released the list of judges for the Section 1-4 National Finals to be held at Cheltenham Racecourse over the weekend of Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th September.

Highly respected

A spokesperson stated: "All this year's adjudicators have previously judged at the National Finals, bringing with them a wealth of experience, musical expertise, and insight.

Competing bands can be confident they'll be performing under the scrutiny of knowledgeable and highly-respected professionals, with a proven track record of adjudicating at the highest levels of brass banding."

Goal

Commenting on the appointments, Philip Morris, Managing Director, Kapitol Promotions, added: "This selection of adjudicators reflects our annual goal of appointing an experienced panel for the National Finals, each chosen for their outstanding work at all levels of banding."

Following recent precedent, three judges will be used in each section. The panels comprise 10 male and two female adjudicators — the same balance as 2023 and 2024.

First and Second Sections

The First Section will see Mark Wilkinson make his seventh appearance, alongside Dr David Thornton who returns for the first time since 2014. Nicholas Garman makes his fourth appearance at the event after also judging last year.

In the Second Section Dr Robert Childs makes his sixth appearance at the event. He is joined by Dr Brett Baker, returning for the second successive year and third in total (all in this section), whilst Stephanie Binns also returns after making her debut in the Fourth Section in 2024.

Third and Fourth Sections

The trio of Gary Davies, Martin Heartfield and Andrea Price will adjudicate the Third Section. Gary Davies returns for the first time since 2023 to make his makes his seventh appearance. Martin Heartfield also returns for the first time since 2023 for his third appearance, whilst Andrea Price adjudicates for a second successive year.

The experienced trio of Alan Bourne, David Hirst and Steve Pritchard-Jones are tasked with the decision making in the Fourth Section.

Alan Bourne returns for the first time since 2023 to make his fourth Cheltenham appearance, whilst David Hirst (who will have judged at the British Open the previous weekend) makes a third consecutive appearance and his ninth in total. Steve Pritchard-Jones makes his fourth appearance and first since 2021.

This selection of adjudicators reflects our annual goal of appointing an experienced panel for the National Finals, each chosen for their outstanding work at all levels of bandingPhilip Morris

Panels:

Section 1:

Nicholas Garman
Dr David Thornton
Mark Wilkinson

Section 2:

Dr Brett Baker
Stephanie Binns
Dr Robert Childs

Section 3:

Gary Davies
Martin Heartfield
Andrea Price

Section 4:

Alan Bourne
David Hirst
Steve Pritchard-Jones