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Home grown test-piece talent for New Zealand Championships

The five test pieces to be heard in Wellington next year all come from the pens of New Zealand composers.

New Zealand
  The New Zealand Championships will be held in Wellington in 2026

The Brass Band Association of New Zealand has announced that all five works to be performed at its 2026 National Championships in Wellington have been composed by New Zealand compositional talent.

It is understood that it is the first time that this has happened at the oldest National Championship in the banding world.

The event takes place at the Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington Opera House and Te Whaea Centre from Wednesday 8th to Saturday 11th April. The chief adjudicator will be Russell Gray.

Set Works


A Grade: Taniwha (Scott Kennedy-French)
B Grade: Images (David Woodcock)
C Grade: Where the Light Falters (Kodi Rasmussen)
D Grade: Elegy for Brass Band (Fraser Bremner)

Solo Championships

The works that will have to be performed by instrumentalists in their bids to claim the keenly contested individual solo prizes have also been announced.

Soprano Cornet: Luciferous (Steven Booth)
Championship Bb Cornet: Chaos for Cornet (Fraser Bremner)
Amateur Bb Cornet: Two Contrasting Scenes (Jack Bewley)
Flugel Silver-Backed Fox (Andrea Hobson)
Tenor Horn: A Rhapsodic Spirit (Grant Pitcher)
Baritone: Pulcinella (Philip Sparke)
Tenor Trombone: Caricatures for Trombone (David Woodcock)
Bass Trombone: Bassically Speaking (Brian Hodges)
Euphonium: Concerto for Euphonium — Part 1 (Philip Wilby)
Eb Bass: Variations on The Bear Went Over the Mountain (Dale Vail)
Bb Bass: GBC (Fendall Hill)

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