Swiss set to celebrate 50th contest anniversary

The Swiss National Championships will reach a significant milestone this year in Lucerne with new works set to test the 60 competing bands.

Lucerne's imposing Culture and Convention Centre (KKL) is set to host the 50th Swiss National Championships over the weekend of the 29th & 30th November.

4BR Editor Iwan Fox will travel to cover the event where 60 bands will take to the stage in their bid to claim the six section titles. It will be the final time the event takes place in Lucerne before its returns to Montreux in 2026.

New commissions

The Swiss Brass Band Association (SBBA) has marked the 50th anniversary by the commission of new set-works in each section — led by 'Genetic Code' by Thomas Doss in the Championship Excellence Section. The winning band over the two-legged contest will represent the nation at the 2026 European Championships in Linz.

The Elite Section will perform 'Arden Forest' by Philip Wilby, whilst the First Section will be challenged by 'La Geometria' by Bert Appermont. Philip Sparke has provided the Second Section setwork, 'Lucerne Dances', with Simon Dobson's 'Thought Gap' in the Third Section. The Fourth Section bands will perform 'Seal of Unity' by Thierry Deleruyelle.

ASBB Merit Awards will be presented to four pioneers of the Swiss movements — Markus S. Bach, Pascal Eicher, Yves Illi and Geo-Pierre Moren.

The two-legged Championship Excellence Section will also feature four new own-choice compositions: 'Adjuration' (Theo Rossier); 'Enginery of Genesis' (Theo Schmitt); 'Mnemosyne Phrases' (Tortsein Aagaard-Nilsen) and 'Orpheus and Eurydice' (Stijn Aergerts).

They will be featured on the Sunday alongside 'Cassandra 2025' and 'Concerto No. 10' (Ludovic Neurohr); 'Jesus in Tibet' (Simon Dobson); 'The Divine Right' (Philip Harper); 'The Forest for the Trees' (Wix Bex) and 'This World' (Thomas Doss).

Adjudicators

The adjudication panel this year will consist of Margie Antrobus, Sandro Blank), Magnus Brandseth, Corsin Tuor, Andrew Duncan, Chris King, Etienne Mounir, Frode Rydland and Mathias Wehr.

The event will begin on Saturday 29th November (10.00am) with the Fourth, Third, Second, Elite and Excellence (set work) sections. Sunday also starts at 10.00am with the First and Excellence (own choice) sections.

Competing Bands:

Excellence Section:

Set Work: Genetic Code (Thomas Doss)

1. Brass Band Berner Oberland (Veronique Gyger)
2. Brass Band Fribourg (Adrian Schneider)
3. Brass Band Treize Etoiles (Frederoc Theodoloz)
4. Brassband Burgermusik Luzern (Michael Bach)
5. Ensemble de Cuivres Jurassien (Thomas Wyss)
6. Ensemble de Cuivres Melodia (Vincent Baroni)
7. Ensemble de Cuivres Valaisan (Jean-Francois Bobillier)
8. Liberty Brass Band (Stefan Roth)
9. Oberaargauer Brass Band (Roland Froscher)
10. Valaisia Brass Band (Arsene Duc)

Elite Section:

Set Work: Arden Forest (Philip Wilby)

1. BML Talents (Patrick Ottiger)
2. Brass Band Cazis (Robin Bartholini)
3. Brass Band Eglisau (Andreas Buri)
4. Brass Band Emmental (Jan Muller)
5. Brass Band Harmonie Neunkirch (Manuel Imhof)
6. Brass Band Rickenbach (Florian Lang)
7. Ensemble de cuivres Euphonia (Glenn Van Looy)
8. GraubÃ¼nden Brass (Gian Stecher)
9. mgrr Brass Band (Roman Caprez)
10. Regional Brass Band Bern (Philippe Bach)

First Section:

Set Work: La Geometria (Bert Appermont)

1. Brass Band Fribourg B (Aurelien Darbellay)
2. Brass Band Fricktal (Florentin Setz)
3. Brass Band Imperial Lenzburg A (Philipp Werlen)
4. Brass Band Kirchenmusik Fluhli (Simon Gertschen)
5. Brass Band Konkordia Busserach (Christoph Bangerter)
6. Brass Band Lotschental (Yvan Lagger)
7. Brass Band MG Reiden (Armin Renggli)
8. Brass Band RosAlp (David Bonvin)
9. Brass Band Schotz (Ueli Wigger)
10. Brass Band Thurgau (Daniel Gubler)
11. Brass Band Treize Etoiles — Formation B (Lionel Fumeaux)
12. Constellation Brass Band B (Olivier VergÃ¨res)
13. Ensemble de Cuivres Ambitus (Damien Lagger)
14. Universal Brass Band Wil (Gian Stecher)

Second Section:

Set Work: Lucerne Dances (Philip Sparke)

1. Brass Band Abinchova (Daniel Battig)
2. Brass Band Berner Oberland Junioren (Joram Bots)
3. Brass Band Feldmusik Escholzmatt (Boris Oppliger)
4. Brass Band Harmonie Rickenbach (Luca Frischknecht)
5. Brass Band Imperial Lenzburg B (Daniel Schrenk)
6. Brass Band Junior Valaisan (Fabien Beney)
7. Brass Band Matzendorf (Cyrill Schaub)
8. Brass Band Rapperswil-Wierezwil (Boris Oppliger)
9. Ensemble de Cuivres Melodia B (Bastien Albiez)
10. Liberty Brass Band Junior (Roman Ledergerber)
11. MG Konkordia Aedermannsdorf (Rafael Camartin)
12. Musik Frohsinn Oberburg (Jan Muller)
13. Musikgesellschaft Oberruti (Jonas Danuser)
14. Musikverein Kunten (Stefan Marki)
15. Oberwalliser Brassband (Tobias Salzgeber)
16. Societe de Musique Brass Band L'Avenir Lignieres (Cyril Perrenoud)

Third Section:

Set Work: Thought Gap (Simon Dobson)

1. Brass Band Gurbetal (Joram Bots)
2. Brass Band Zurich (Werner Kubli)
3. Ensemble de Cuivres Jurassien B (Florian Lab)
4. MG Brass Band Lengnau (Markus Hauenstein)
5. MG Ufhusen (Sandro Frautschi)

Fourth Section:

Set Work: Seal of Unity (Thierry Deleruyelle)

1. Brass Band Franches-Montagnes (Bastien Van Schilt)
2. Entlebucher Jugend Brass Band (Noah Gutheinz)
3. HinterlÃ¤nder Jugend Brass Band (Timon Jordi)
4. Jugend Brass Band Michelsamt-Surental (Joel Spitaleri)
5. Jugend Brass Band Oberer Sempachersee (Manuel Imhof)

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