The winner, by a substantial margin, of the public vote held on the Brass Bands of New Zealand (BBANZ) website is Andrew Large prinicpal cornet of Dalewool Auckland Brass.

Andrew will join automatic entries Phil Johnston and Riki McDonnell on stage on Wednesday evening 9th of July at the presitious Invitation Slow Melody event.

Invitations from the BBANZ Executive for the other nine spots will be released later this week.

This year voters were asked to give a brief comment along with their vote and here are few of the comments about Andrew:

"He is one of the most consistent, top performing players in the country."

"His slow melody playing is truly what he excels in."

"Fantastic player natural ability and very, very hard working."

"When you watch and hear him play you know you are witnessing a ‘once in a generation’ talent."

For the fifth year, The Invitation Slow Melody event is proudly sponsored by Simon Hocking House of Travel.