The National Band Council of Australia has announced the test pieces which have been selected for the 2027 National Championships in Canberra in March.

The Open Premier Division will perform 'The Forest for the Trees' by Wim Bex, following confirmation that the two year trial to set up the new elite level of national competition has now been made permanent.

Originally written for Brass Band Willebroek to perform as their own-choice work at the 2024 Belgian National Championships and the 2025 European Championships, it has since been performed as an own-choice selection in Switzerland, Norway, France and Belgium.

Premier propaganda

'The Forest for the Trees' reflects on the use of propaganda in times of conflict as both a manipulative and effective tool of political communication.

The title is linked to the argument made by Sir Thomas More in 1533 against the English cleric Robert Barnes, who he thought was a heretic. More stated that although Barnes could actually touch the bricks that built St Paul's Church of Rome, he was still blind to the importance of the building itself.

Belgium composer Wim Bex explores these issues framed within a symphonic tone poem structure made up of 9 subtitled, interlinked sections that asks the listener to search for the unbiased 'middle ground' to distinguish between what is real and what is fabricated.

Nobel prize winner

The Open A Brass competitors will perform 'Radioactive Discoveries' by the award-winning Norwegian composer Ingebjorg Vilhelmsen.

Commissioned by Svenska Brassbandförbundet for the Swedish National Championships in 2024, it's inspired by the life and work of Nobel prize winner Marie Curie who made ground-breaking contributions in the fields of radioactivity and nuclear physics.

Cosmologist

Open B Grade bands will tackle Simon Dobson's 'A Brief Symphony of Time'.

Originally commissioned by the Norwegian Smoras Skolemusikk Band, it is composed in four continuous movements and is a tribute to the late cosmologist Stephen Hawking in a playful, exciting early science fiction 'B-movie' film style.

The title is linked to the argument made by Sir Thomas More in 1533 against the English cleric Robert Barnes, who he thought was a heretic4BR

Musical refuge and horses

Ingebjorg Vilhelmsen's 'Omnia', will test the Open C Grade bands. It describes being able to seek refuge in music, based on a chorale written initially for a school band, which is subsequently developed through several variations.

Brenton Broadstock's 'The Sport of Kings' is to be performed by the Open D Grade contenders. Written in 2012 as a commission for the Moonee Valley Band, the three-movement work celebrates aspects of horse racing.

Test pieces:

Open Premier Grade Brass: The Forest for the Trees (Wim Bex)
Open A Grade Brass: Radioactive Discoveries (Ingebjorg Vilhelmsen)
Open B Grade Brass: A Brief Symphony of Time (Simon Dobson)
Open C Grade Brass: Omnia (Ingebjorg Vilhelmsen)
Open D Grade Brass: The Sport of Kings (Brenton Broadstock)