The inaugural German Brass Band Championships have just taken place in Ingolstadt in Germany, where 3BA Brass, who will be competing in the B Section of the Europeans in Stavanger this weekend, took the top honours and the 1,000 Euro first prize.

Results:

B Section:
1. Bavarian Brass Band Academy (3BA) — 96pts
2. Brass Band Oberschwaben-Allgäu (BBOA) — 94.5pts

3BA also won prizes for Best Bass Section; Solo Cornet and Best Horns
BBOA won prizes for Best Back row cornets; Best Soloists and Best Percussion.

C Section:
1. CCB — 94.5pts
2. Brass Band Dürren – 88pts

D Section
1. Brass Band Blechklang Jena – 93pts
2. Esbrassivo Mittel - 90.5pts
3. Brass Band München — 89.5pts
4. Big Breath Brass Band B4 — 88.4pts
5. St. Wolfgang — 84.5pts

Solidarity is what characterizes minorities. The first national contest for brass bands definitely has sharpened their awareness that they are no longer lone wolves in the German music sceneClaus-Peter Wittmann

Delight

The championships were the result of the work of Claus-Peter Wittmann who it seems was delighted with the success of the inaugural event: “Everybody appears to be a winner today,’ he said.

Claus had the original idea of forming the championships and was rewarded when bands from throughout the country came to Ingolstadt to perform with the support of the Bavarian Wind Bands Association (BWBA) and sponsorship from York Instruments.

Long tradition

Germany has a long tradition of marching bands, but through the work of people such as Scotsman, Bob Ross and his popular “Blechschaden”, a brass sound project of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra there are now some 18 bands throughout the country working and rehearsing on a regular basis. Nine of them signed up for the first nationwide trial of strength in the German brass band scene.

Highest category

In the highest category B Section Bavarian Brass Band Academy (3BA) and Brass Band Oberschwaben-Allgäu competed in a high quality contest and 3BA will now represent Germany at the EBBA Championship 2009 in Ostend.

Surprised at standard

According to BWBA chief-conductor Dieter Böck, the members of the jury, Maurice Hamers (Netherlands), Guido Seegers (Belgium) and Achim Baumann (Switzerland), were rather surprised by the proficiency level of the emerging German brass band scene. “Some of them do have the strengths required to succeed on the international stage,” said Mr. Böck from the jury reports, visibly satisfied with the achievements in Germany’s first national brass music competition.

Future

What will the future bring for German brass band music?

To date, it is unclear whether the championship will be turned into a regular contest as currently out of pocket expenses are prohibitive.

BWBA Manager Andreas Horber stated: “It is not our intention to impose an annual contest which, from a financial perspective, is not feasible for the bands.”

Lone wolf

However, Claus-Peter Wittmann and Dieter Böck are positive that the German Brass Band Championship will not be a flash in the pan. "Solidarity is what characterizes minorities. The first national contest for brass bands definitely has sharpened their awareness that they are no longer lone wolves in the German music scene."

Many thanks to Angela Häusler